Read My Mind
by Robiyama
Summary: Next Generation fic. Based around Scorpius and Albus, two boys, who despite the odds became the best of friends. Scorpius's supposed natural skill at Legilimency is causing trouble, and he's doing nothing to get it under control.
1. Legilimency is Dangerous

Next Generation fic. Based around Scorpius and Albus, two boys, who despite the odds became the best of friends. Scorpius's supposed natural skill at Legilimency is causing trouble, and he's doing nothing to get it under control. Come and explore Hogwarts - its grounds, students and teachers, twenty-one years after Voldemort's defeat.

**1 - Legilimency is Dangerous**

Scorpius' eyes narrowed as he scowled, and suddenly Albus was back in the first year, seated precariously upon a rickety old stool in the Great Hall, his small feet barely scraping the ground. Hundreds of students peered eagerly over at him, the last of the Potter brood to enroll in the school and be Sorted.

Although the time had long since passed, Potter's legacy lived on in the school in form of myth and rumour. Albus felt a heavy weight drop onto his shoulders and suddenly his world turned black, filled with an echoey and somewhat patronising voice contemplating his future.

_"Albus Severus Potter. The last of the Potter clan, eh. Hmm... now let's see. Interesting. Very interesting. Not Hufflepuff, no... although... hmm. Certainly, your mind is very strong, perhaps Ravenclaw might be best for you..." _

With a jolt, Albus was back in his seat. He glowered at Scorpius, who smirked.

**"You've really got to stop doing that Scorpy. Legili-" **

**"Don't call me that." **

**"Legilimency is dangerous!" **

Scorpius rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. Albus frowned at him, green eyes now misted with disinterest as he walked himself through his first day at school once again. Moving over to the window of the empty classroom, Scorpius leant the side of his face against the cool stone, watching the heavy rain ravish the landscape and streak down the glass in haphazard scribbles.

**"It hasn't stopped raining for weeks." **

Albus looked up at him with a faint noise of agreement. Scorpius looked round at him and smiled darkly.

**"C'mon Sev, let's go do something fun." **

Albus raised an eyebrow sceptically, puffing out his cheeks. Scorpius' idea of fun usually involved the pair of them knee deep in something devious and winding up in detention.

**"C'mooon..." **

Albus shook his head.

**"I dunno, I mean... last time, we-"**

**"Don't worry so much! What I've got in mind isn't even remotely dangerous. We won't get caught, I promise."**

**"Well..." **Albus sighed defeatedly, Scorpius wasn't the only one bored out of his own mind. **"What have you got in mind?"**

Scorpius gave a devilish smirk and crossed the room back to Al's side, leaning over conspirationally.

Ten minutes later, Scorpius was marching through the Great Hall, headed for the trophy room. The hall was oddly empty, given the weather, but Albus barely noticed - already flustered, having to jog to keep up with the taller boy's long strides. Pushing the heavy door aside, Scorpius ushered Albus inside and pulled it shut behind them, plunging them into darkness.

**"Why is it so dark??" **Albus hissed.

**"Ssshhh... Lumos."**

The tip of Scorpius' wand sparked into life, spreading a dim glow around the staircase. Albus scratched his head and followed suit. They'd been this way a hundred times before, but it had never been so dark. Scorpius started down the stairs and beckoned to his friend, the pair of them creeping down into the blackness by wandlight and into the archway of the trophy room.

The sounds of the storm still faintly audible overhead, they began to descend the final stone steps into the trophy room and approach the portrait on the far wall as they had done a hundred times before. It was their own secret passage, unused and unknown to all others in the castle. Albus reached it a little after Scorpius and watched as he pulled the curtain aside, revealing something very odd.

In place of the passage's guardian - the jovial riddle-loving jester they usually encountered, another figure was stood in his place in the portrait. He was a tall man with a large nose and stern, dark features. He stood very still, large almost grey-skinned hands crossed neatly across his stomach above his black robes. Scorpius gulped.

**"Pro- Pro- Pro-"**

**"Professor Snape!"** Albus cut in, aghast.

The portrait eyed him beadily, expression unflinching, his expression framed by curtains of greasy black hair.

**"I thought I'd find you here." **He spoke dully, his voice dry and entirely humourless. **"I don't appreciate being roused from my own portrait to seek out mischievous young boys."**

The two boys looked from the portrait to each other and back again worriedly.

**"If I were you," **The portrait continued, voice dripping with dank cynicism. **"I'd head back towards my common room and give up the idea of sneaking around in the prefects quarters."**

**"How did you know we wer-" **Started Scorpius incredulously, silenced by an elbow to the chest from Albus. **"... Yes, Professor."**

The portrait shifted to tug his sleeves back from his hands and fold them once again across his paunch, still staring disapprovingly at the two boys without flinching. Albus backed away from the portrait quietly, tugging Scorpius' sleeve to follow. Still staring dumbly at the portrait, Scorpius stepped back, following Albus' lead without breaking eye contact with the painting.

As they started out of the room and headed up the stairs, wordlessly running up towards the Great Hall again, the Professor appeared fleetingly in the paintings on the stairs, as if chasing them. Emerging in the hall, and blinking in the candlelight, the two boys scurried wordlessly out onto the staircases and started to ascend.

Scorpius looked down at the younger boy and exhaled heavily. Albus met his gaze with a helpless, and slightly nervous smile, his bright eyes still watching the batlike black figure flitting through portraits behind his friend. The pair didn't speak until they reached the second floor corridor, heading down past the girl's bathrooms and out towards the staircase leading up to the Hospital Wing.

**"Is he still following us?"** Asked Scorpius in a low whisper.

Looking around, Albus shook his head and shrugged noncommittally.

**"I'm not sure... I can't see him."**

**"C'mon then, let's get up to the clock tower."**

**"You're not still planning-"** Albus started, but the other boy cut him off.

**"I'm not completely stupid, you know." **He rolled his eyes and marched off at double speed.

Running to catch up, Albus knit his brows in friendly concern.

**"I didn't mean it like that." **Albus jogged alongside his friend in silence until they came to the door leading into the clock tower. Looking around carefully, Scorpius pulled the heavy wooden door open and shoved Albus ahead of him with a heavy hand on his back, following quietly and tugging the door closed.

Albus peered sheepishly through the heavy wooden planks on the floor and sighed. The older boy moved ahead of him, padding round to a hole in the stonework on the far right side of the room. Watching the pendulum of the huge clock swing slowly back and forth, Albus shuffled after his friend silently.

Reaching into the hole, Scorpius pulled out a piece of worn parchment and turned to look up at the clock with a sigh.

**"We're not going to get anything done today, are we." **He said, more to himself than to Albus.

Nodding his head and shaking his dark unruly hair out of his eyes, Albus sighed.

**"At least there are no portraits in here."**

Scorpius looked over at him and smiled wryly, dropping down to sit on the floor and patting the cool damp wood next to him.

**"Not yet." **He grinned. **"Y'know, perhaps we need to look for somewhere else to hang out - it's bloody cold in here at this time of year, and it stinks worse than Longbottom's greenhouse." **

Albus made a rumble of agreement, dropping down to sit beside his friend and examining the dirt under his fingernails nonchalently.

The pair sat in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts until Albus heard the faint sound of a train's whistle and suddenly found himself sitting back on the Hogwarts Express headed for the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the first time.

Kings Cross station, his parents and the rest of London slowly paled into the distance as he sat looking out of the window, wringing his hands together, his stomach knotting with nerves and excitement. Within no time at all, the train was soon whizzing through the British countryside, through forests and over wide expanses of fields, past bored-looking sheep and lazy horses milling aimlessly, and small villages nestled in the heart of valleys and hills.

The carriage door slid open and banged against the frame noisily, causing Albus to look round, seeing two boys dragging large heavy trunks inside.

_**"D'you mind?" **_Asked the taller of the two, gruffly.

Albus shook his head and blinked, realising the question was more of a statement than an enquiry of any kind. He watched the two boys with some interest as they shuffled in and struggled to push their trunks up into the storage above the slightly threadbare red seats before dropping down opposite him and breathing a sigh each.

Not wanting to intrude, Albus turned his attention back to the landscape whizzing past the window. The slighter of the two boys yawned and stretched his arms wide, turning to the larger and smiling slowly.

_**"It's finally time, eh? I can't wait to find out what house we'll end up in."**_

The larger boy grunted a response, rolling round slightly and resting his feet on the opposite seat beside Albus sluggishly. Looking round at them and inspecting them for the first time, Albus noticed an odd familiarity about the second boy. Something about his expression was akin to a fresh winter morning - neatly brushed and parted blonde hair hung over his forehead and round his ears, framing a pair of shining grey eyes. Obviously a Malfoy.

Without moving his head, the boy turned his cool gaze onto Albus, a smirk of recognition slowly spreading up his face.

_**"You must be a Potter."**_

Albus nodded slowly, slightly dumbstruck from the stories he'd head about the Malfoys from his brother and parents in the past.

_**"I'm Scorpius. Scorpius Malfoy." **_His grin was wild and devilish, almost eerie by it's contrast with his otherwise sharp and cold features. He leaned forward and extended a gloved hand to Albus, who took it and shook it weakly, still staring dumbly at the blonde.

Giving a visible shudder, Albus was back in the clock tower, sitting under a drip and glowering at the back of Scorpius' head irritably, his hair much longer now than it had been back then.

**"SCORPI-"**

**"Ssssh! I can hear something!"**

**"I'd appreciate it if you respected my privacy little more, Scorpius." **hissed Albus, leaning closer to the other boy and straining to hear anything over the rain and rhythmic ticking of the giant clock.

Sure enough, above the sound of the mechanisms and the storm, they could hear little footsteps rapidly approaching them from downstairs. Scorpius leapt up, pulling out his wand defensively and aiming it at the nearby wooden staircase. Soon enough, the pattering of feet became louder and a redheaded girl appeared in the stairwell, slight of frame and soaked to the skin. She skidded to a halt at the sight of Scorpius and turned her eyes incredulously on Albus.

**"Lily."** Lowering his wand, Scorpius growled.

The first-year neatened the pleats in her skirt self-consciously and glowered up at Scorpius.

**"What are you two doing here??"**

Albus rolled his eyes and stood up.

**"If you're here to tell us off-"**

**"No." **She scowled, looking down at the puddle of water appearing down her feet as it ran off her clothes.

Scorpius smirked mirthfully to himself, casting a hot air charm on the girl with a complicated swish of his wand, drying her clothes and prompting her to grab the hem of her skirt and tug it down, glaring at him as it tried to expose her.

**"Very funny, Malfoy."** She turned her attentions back to Albus. **"Shouldn't you two be in your extra Transfiguration classes??"**

**"If you know my timetable so well, why don't you go in my place?"** Asked Scorpius, prowling round behind her irritably. There was nothing worse than being disturbed by a first-year, especially this one.

She spun round to face him, cheeks flushed with colour.

**"It's not for YOUR sake, Malfoy."**

**"Guys... c'mon Scorpius, let's get out of here. Lily, what've I told you about staying out of my business."**

**"You'll be sorry when you fail your exams - skipping lessons all the time! Mum'll be furious!" **Lily tugged frustratedly on one of her red pigtails.

**"It's not like I'm skipping lessons all the time." **Albus growled. **"C'mon Scorp-"**

Scorpius' eyes were locked firmly on Lily's, her expression glazed somehow, finding herself jogging slowly down a long stone corridor, completely lost and late for her lesson. Desperate not to get into trouble, and with tears brimming in her eyes, she sped up, running down the corridor, her robe catching and bunching round her legs. In front of her, a tall boy stepped out of the shadows, but it was too late to stop and she hurtled right into him and skidded across the floor, knees grazing against the cold stone.

Horrified and apologising profusely, she leapt to her feet and started off again, but he grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her round to look at him. Looking up into a pair of icy grey eyes, she whimpered and pulled away.

_**"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm late, I've really got to go...!"**_

Shaking her head, Lily's fierce glare could have cut through the castle's thick stone walls as her eyes refocused on Scorpius and rounded on him with an angry howl.

**"What've I told you abou-"**

Albus blinked, slightly dazed, before turning his eyes on Scorpius as well.

**"Did you just...? On my sister...??"**

Scorpius grinned devilishly, turning away from them both and pretending to examine the enormous bronzed bell sharing the room with them.

**"I can't believe you..." **Albus' expression was one of complete and utter disbelief, his voice somewhere between shock and amazement. **"Scorpy-"**

When Scorpius didn't even respond to his least-favourite nickname, Lily cut across him reedily.

**"He does it all the time!" **She complained, turning her scowl on her brother now, as if it were his fault.

**"Keep your voice down."** Murmured Scorpius, glibly cutting across her, holding up a hand and squinting in the direction of the second floor corridor. **"The last thing we want is Peeves' attention up here."**

Sure enough, Peeves could be heard cackling his way along the hall, his latest cruel symphony audible over the rain.

_**"Where oh where has the little Spratt gone? His ears too big and his legs too long-" **_His rousing chorus was broken by a triumphant whoop as he appeared to change directions and speed off the way he came. The blonde-haired boy let out a small sigh of relief and turned back to the others, who were still glowering at the back of his head.

**"You're just as bad as he is, Malfoy." **Spat Lily, turning on the spot and heading back for the stairs, her thick red hair swishing like a cloak in her wake. **"I hope he DOES find you here, and I hope you don't get another moment's peace."**

The boys watched her go, a slightly cruel smile etched on Scorpius' face as the sound of her footsteps eventually faded away into the rain.

**"Little ray of sunshine, isn't she, your sister. I do wish she'd spend more time with us." **He said dully, turning his grey eyes on Albus, who flinched slightly under his gaze, still obviously annoyed at Scorpius' persistence with his Legilimency.

**"I do wish you wouldn't do it, Scorp."**

Scorpius pretended not to have heard his friend, instead moving over to one of the walls and examining the weathered stone with long nimble fingers.

In fact, he didn't say much for the rest of the day. The weather did not improve as the day wore on, and eventually the two dejected boys decided wordlessly that perhaps adhering to their timetables might not be such a bad idea after all - there was no point skipping lessons if there was no fun to be had elsewhere, and the boredom was choking.

When the pair of them arrived five minutes late for their Charms lesson, Professor Avery turned her usually soft brown eyes on them in a fierce glare.

**"Nice of you to turn up, Mr Malfoy, Mr Potter."**

Albus gave a slightly sheepish grin and almost stuttered out an explanation before Scorpius nudged him sharply in the ribs and marched straight off to the bench they shared without further word or acknowledgement.

Easily the youngest teacher at Hogwarts, Avery was slight of frame, short, with a heart-shaped face and long, slightly dirty-looking blonde hair. Her large doe-like dark eyes were busy peering at them over a pair of half-moon spectacles which made her look rather older than she really was - perhaps it was intentional. Despite her youth, she had a temper to be reckoned with and her lessons were a tightly-run ship - her classes ran on a no nonsense policy, and her detentions were rumoured to be excruciatingly well-engineered to be as dull as feasibly possible.

**"That'll be ten points then, I suppose." **She murmured with a flick of her wand, airily looking up at the ceiling as if mimicking Scorpius' disrespectful attitude, and ignoring the chorus of groans from the other students present.

Albus' cheeks flushed pink as he dug around in his bag, pulling out quill, parchment and ink, laying them delicately next to his wand on the desk ahead of him. Scorpius flung himself into a seat, dumped his bag unceremoniously on the desk and glared at Professor Avery over the top of it.

**"Will you be joining the lesson, now you're here, Scorpius?"** She asked, fixing him with an owlish stare.

Scorpius mumbled something in reply, but she shook her head.

**"I beg your pardon?"**

**"Yes, **_**Professor**_**."**

Avery sighed, shaking her head again, before turning and addressing the class, as if she had wasted enough time already.

**"Now, today we'll be working on..."**

Avery's classroom faded as if it were a watercolour painting left out in the rain - the sharp edges of the wide room blurred into each other and pooled into a mess of colour as Albus found himself sitting on the wide marble staircase in the entrance hall with his head in his hands. What were mum and dad going to say? What was James going to say? He'd already seen the look on James' face as he left the Sorting Hat's chair to join his new House - he didn't want to speak to anybody ever again.

_**"First years this way please! This way-" **_A crowd of students led by a single prefect filed past, excitedly chattering away to each other.

Following them, somebody stopped right in front of Albus and looked down at him.

_**"Potter." **_Said a sharp voice, not unkindly, but with the air of somebody about to tackle a problem they really could do without.

Albus looked up and found himself looking up at a tall boy with a gaunt face and a gleaming Prefects' badge glittering on the front of his robes.

_**"You'll be left behind if you're not careful." **_Said the boy sternly, reaching down and pulling Albus roughly to his feet by the collar of his robes. _**"The other First-Years have gone on ahead - come on, the Dungeons are this way."**_

Albus followed the older boy with his head down, a dull sinking feeling in his gut. He'd spent so long looking forward to this moment - his first glimpse of what Hogwarts was really like; not just what James had told him, but now he felt deeply nauseous and didn't particularly want to look at anything at all. It had been his own choice though, right? Dad said the Hat would give him a choice. It hadn't, but then he hadn't tried to argue with it - surely, if he had, he could have joined his brother in Gryffindor?

Albus shook himself visibly, meeting Avery's stern gaze with a wide-eyed look of panic.

**"Perhaps you could demonstrate for us, if you're not too busy daydreaming, Mr Potter?"**

**"I... I..."** He couldn't admit he had absolutely no idea what was going on in the lesson and that it was Scorpius' fault. **"I'm sorry Professor, I'm feeling really quite..."**, and with that he folded gently backwards out of his seat and collapsed onto the floor.

Scorpius whizzed round to look at him, eyes wide with shock.

**"He's... he's fainted Professor!" **Uttered Scorpius, his voice almost squeaking with surprise.

Avery got to her feet and looked down her nose over at Albus, her expression unchanging.

**"P... Permission to take him to the Hospital Wing, Professor?"**

She let out a heavy, irritable sigh, scrutinising Scorpius carefully before responding.

**"Off you go. Hurry back - if you're not back within fifteen minutes, I'll have you in detention, Mr Malfoy."** She said quietly, with a raised eyebrow, before turning her eyes on the rest of the class. **"Not sure what you're all staring at - is this helping you with your charm casting??"**

There was a mumbled chorus of responses as the other students turned back to the task at hand, watching Scorpius out of the corner of one eye as he lifted a groggy-looking Albus to his feet and escourted him unsteadily from the room.

Albus body stiffened as soon as they were out of earshot, shrugging Scorpius off angrily.

**"Don't you think we're in enough trouble already? Are you completely stupid or something??"**

Scorpius seemed entirely unsurprised by Albus' sudden change in demeanour, but continued walking towards the Hospital Wing. Albus jogged to keep up, harrying him for a response.

**"Well??"**

Scorpius didn't slow for him, and shoved out at him violently when Albus made a lunge to grab his arm and turn him round.

**"Sc... Scorpius?" **Albus stopped in his tracks, looking quizzically at his friend as he marched resolutely off down the corridor as if he couldn't hear him at all. All trace of anger fading rapidly to be replaced with a sort of sorry bewilderment, Albus hurried after him, eyebrows knotted in confusion.

Before he could catch up, Scorpius' silence was broken by a shrill shriek of mirth as Peeves rounded the corner, arms full of ink pellets and his wide mouth open in a cruel grin.

**"Iiiiiit's Potty and Malfy! Getting caught outside classes?? GOODNESS ME!" **He cackled wildly, breaking out into song. **"Spotty and Malfy, more than just chums, caught in the bathroom while having some fun-"**

Albus groaned, rubbing his forehead with one hand as an ink pellet came flying in his direction. Today was going from bad to worse. Dodging Peeves' attack as if he weren't there, Scorpius marched on and disappeared round a corner as Albus all but vanished in a rain of ink.


	2. Charmed

**A/N - **Hello, and thankyou to everybody who has read, reviewed, favourited or otherwise taken an interest in this fic so far :D I'm really having fun writing it, so I hope you'll enjoy reading... anyway, if you've got the time to leave a review, I'd love to hear what you've got to say - good or bad, all feedback is much appreciated, and thanks again!!  
-Robiyama

**2 - Charmed **

A faintly blue-stained Albus caught up with him in the boys bathrooms round the corner, finding him hunched over a sink with his forehead pressed against the cool glass of the mirror. Stepping closer, Albus vaguely contemplated using a scouring charm to clean his face, but upon admitting to himself that the results could be disastrous, rolled his sleeves up, bent low over a basin and began to rinse Peeves' ink from his face.

**"Are you alright...?" **He asked between scrubs.

**"Fine."** Said Scorpius, testily.

**"That Peeves, eh."** Murmured Albus, with a forced joviality, knowing nobody ever enjoyed Peeves' attentions.

Scorpius made a non-committal grunt and turned to look at him. Neither of them spoke for a while, Scorpius watching calmly as Albus sloshed water over his face noisily, dripping a fair amount down his robes. After a while, Albus looked up, his eyes grazing momentarily along the cracked green tiles above the sink, before looking at Scorpius' reflection in the misted mirror.

**"Are you sure you're alright?"**

**"Yeah." **Scorpius sighed. **"That was some stunt you pulled back there - fainting like that. Bloody risky."**

**"Heh." **Albus grinned, before his expression faded into a look of mild reproachfulness. **"I wouldn't have had to try it if you weren't pulling tricks like that, though, Scorp."**

The blonde looked him over momentarily as if groping for a response, but instead shrugged his shoulders and turned to leave the bathroom.

**"Good luck getting back to the common room in one piece."**

Albus opened his mouth to say something, but Scorpius was already gone. He frowned, he was used to Scorpius occasional mood swings, but that didn't make them any less irritating. Rolling his sleeves down, he crept to the door, straining his ears for any sign of Peeves in the vicinity. Upon hearing nothing but a slightly ominous silence, he crept out of the room and headed for the grand staircase, hoping to sneak down to the common room without being sighted by anybody who would know he was skipping lessons again.

**"Albus!" **Came a cry as he reached the doorway to the Entrance Hall.

Albus froze, wincing and looking back around the Great Staircase, noticing with faint relief that not only did there appear to be no sign of Snape's batlike form flitting between the portrait frames, but that none of the other inhabitants appeared to be paying him any attention whatsoever. His relief was short-lived, however, as a loud thump and a dull pain between his shoulders indicated that the voice belonged to none other than his brother, James Sirius Potter. Albus groaned.

**"What is it James, look, I'm-"**

"Is what Lily said true?" Asked James hotly, fiercely protective of his younger sister, and just as fiercely against Albus' friendship with the Malfoy boy.

**"Uh..."**

**"Your little brat of a best friend using Legilimency against her??"**

"James-"

James grabbed the front of Albus' robes violently and shook him, dragging him much closer than he'd like to have been.

**"You'd better tell your little mate to stay away from our sister, or I'm going to have to teach him a lesson with this!" **He waggled his wand in Albus' face with his spare hand. Albus screwed up his eyes and pulled away, very carefully prying James' fingers from the cloth of his robes.

**"Talk to me about it after lessons today." **He said dumbly, stepping back and hurrying away through the Entrance Hall and down the stairs to the dungeons as James made another lunge for him.

**"That's right! Run back down to your stinking hole in the ground, Al! Tell your little boyfriend to be on his toes, cus if he goes anywhere near her again, I'm gunna get him!"**

With James' angry voice echoing in his ears, Albus scurried glumly through the entrance to the Slytherin common room and sank gratefully into a chair by the empty fireplace. Rolling his head back to look at the ceiling, he sighed. Scorpius was a rule unto himself, really. He couldn't help caring deeply about him, but he knew in reality, there was very little he could do to stop him doing exactly as he pleased. He was as headstrong as he was clever, always coming up with a new plan, a new way to cause trouble. He had a cruel streak that ran straight through him like the core of a wand, but he there was something different about him - something that forced Albus to stay with him again and again, no matter what he did.

Albus was still staring glazedly at the low, dark ceiling when Scorpius returned from Charms, dropping his bag on the floor and depositing himself on the sofa beside Albus without a word.

**"... Did you-"**

**"Detention." **Said Scorpius, quietly, obviously still fuming from the indignity of it all. **"And your stupid brother leering at me like some sort of animal." **

**"Just ignore James, you know he's just out to rile you up." **

Albus spoke with little conviction in his voice, mind still pointedly elsewhere - he was still angry with Scorpius. He'd always had this odd tendency to develop a slightly glazed look while the pair of them were chatting, and then repeat whatever passing thought had been in Albus' mind at the time, however irrelevant, and that was fairly frustrating, but recently he'd taken into slipping in and out of other people's memories. Not just by himself, either. He'd drag Albus with him on these journies through private memories, and Albus was entirely powerless to resist these flights of fantasy. To be honest, it was worse than annoying - it was downright rude, and yet nothing anybody said about it seemed to stop him doing it.

He turned to look at Scorpius who was upside down, laying with his head lolling off the sofa and watching him curiously. Pushing all negative thoughts about the other boy to the back of his mind, Albus smiled at him nonchalantly, making a forced effort to think of food.

**"I'm hungry." **Said Scorpius after a while, breaking eye contact and wriggling round to sit up. His face looked even paler than usual in the dim green lights of the common room. **"You coming?"**

Albus nodded and hopped to his feet, the pair of them weaving their way through the network of corridors linking the Slytherin common room with the main staircases. The Great Hall was fairly busy as they settled down to eat, and Albus could faintly hear the mocking laughter of his brother over the din, but paid it no heed as he tucked into a steak pie situated nearest his plate. The pair of them ate in silence, listening instead to the conversations of those around them. Third year Belinda Roberts was discussing in a high-pitched Irish lilt with her neighbour about the latest addition to Hufflepuff's Quidditch team, a new Chaser from the fourth year going by the name of Dodge, which was kind of ironic, given his reputation for attracting bludgers like Cornish Pixies around a cauldron cake. A merry smirk appeared on Scorpius' face for the first time this morning, and despite his anger with the other boy, Albus couldn't resist smiling in return.

As the two got up to leave the hall, the sound of flat shoes pattering against the floor signalled the arrival of Albus' cousin, Rose.

**"Al... can I have a word?" **She glanced warily at Scorpius, shooting him a polite smile.

Scorpius stared at her calculatingly for a moment before moving off silently. She wrung her fingers together pensively and fixed her gaze on Albus, Ravenclaw's insignia glowing proudly on her robes.

**"That chap-" **She started to say, her voice filled with the educated nonchalance of her mother.

**"If you're here to tell me off on his behalf, I've already had it from James once today, and I really can't be bothered-"**

**"No, Al, look..."** She winced away as if stung when he glowered at her fiercely, all hint of joviality gone from her voice as she continued. **"I know that you're not going to stop being friends with him, and I wouldn't want you to, either!" **She added hastily as he turned to leave her standing alone in the Great Hall.

**"Just..." **She said softly, catching the hem of one of his sleeves between small, thin fingers. **"Keep him out of James' way - I've spoken to Lily already, just be careful around James, please...!"**

**"Thanks for the warning, but I think I've had enough experience dealing with my troll of a brother already, don't you? See you." **Albus marched off after Scorpius, leaving a slightly confused and rather deflated Rose in his wake. She sighed softly and returned to her table, shaking her head dejectedly as she took her seat between her closest friends - fellow Ravenclaws, Amy Hawkins and Melanie Slater.

The holidays were approaching, soon the rain stopped and was replaced by thick, swirling snows and ice. Albus' mood was lifted by Scorpius' apparent cessation of his favourite trick, and the fact he'd managed to completely avoid James' scornful remarks for almost two whole weeks. Students filled the courtyards during break, collars turned up against the biting wind, taking care not to slip on the icy cobbles. Albus was cheered furthermore by news that the last Hogsmeade trip of the year was very close now. Scorpius, however, was decidedly dour when Albus caught him lolling on one of the high-backed chairs beside the fire lethargically after dinner, and having asked him five times what was wrong, both tempers were running a little short.

**"Is it another detention with Avery? You must love her, the amount of time you spend with her outside class-"**

**"Shut it." **Said Scorpius dryly, poking disinterestedly at the yellow fluff spilling from a hole in one of the arms of the sofa.

There was a flutter above their heads as Snape's black form momentarily appeared in the portrait beside the fireplace, before vanishing as quickly as it had arrived, leaving its usual inhabitant - a wizened old lady in a black widow's gown - huffing and puffing irritably, readjusting her veil with a scowl. Albus looked at it for a moment - one of his namesakes, the former Headmaster was rarely contained to his own portrait in the Potions classroom, and instead found himself content to flit between frames throughout the castle, perhaps in the faint hope of catching some student up to something they shouldn't be. His gaze fell to the elaborately carved mantlepiece, examining the forms of a great number of snakes as they rose and fell into the woodwork.

**"Sev." **Said Scorpius quietly, as though affronted by Albus' sudden lack of interest. Albus turned to look at him, raising one eyebrow, an expression of distaste still lingering on his features - he wasn't about to let Scorpius forget his annoyance this time.

However, soon enough, Albus found himself sitting in the Great Hall, sinking as low into the bench as he could possibly manage, avoiding the eyes of his brother who's face seemed transfixed in an expression of utter disbelief, staring at him from the other side of the hall. He felt the arms of people either side of him thumping him on the back, and a cackle of "We finally got a Potter!", along with some incoherent mumblings of malcontent. The encouragement of his peers cheered him up slightly, but upon catching sigh of his brother's aghast face once more, he lowered his eyes meekly to the table where they remained until the feast began.

Even the appearance of all the wondrous food before him did little to lighten his mood, and he gave a sigh as he reached out to grab some chicken, his stomach reminding him with a great rumble that he was hungry after all. Looking up, he noticed the cheeky grin of the boy seated opposite him- slightly, bur perfectly straight white-blonde hair hanging round his ears, framing a pair of ice cold eyes.

_**"Potter." **_Said the boy with an indulgent smirk, taking a big bite out of a chicken leg. _**"Didn't catch your name on the train."**_

_**"Albus..." **_Said Albus dumbly, picking up a chicken leg and following suit, feeling his stomach give a contented murmur in response.

The boy shook his head, his pointed gaze piercing straight through Albus.

_**"That's not your full name is it, Potter. Let's hear the rest."**_

A few Slytherins seated around him had stopped eating and turned to look at him curiously. Albus lowered his eyes to his table, knowing full well they'd all heard his name when the Sorting Hat called him forward earlier in the evening.

_**"Albus Severus Potter."**_He said carefully, looking back up at him as if daring him to make a comment about it. The boy merely smiled.

**"SCORPIUS MALFOY!"** Shouted Albus, distinctly reminding himself of his mother and aunt as he did so, planted firmly back in his chair in the Slytherin common room.

Scorpius didn't flinch at Albus' shout, remaining perfectly still with his dull, almost melancholy stare focused loosely on him wearily. Albus faltered exasperatedly. There was nothing he could say to Scorpius that he hadn't said a hundred times before. The two sat in silence for a moment, before Scorpius got to his feet.

**"Where are you going?"** Albus' tone was far more accusatory than he had planned it.

**"Detention."**

**"Avery??"**

The ghost of a smile played on Scorpius' face as he slid out of the common room leaving Albus looking both vexed and amused in his wake. Slipping through the Dungeons, he eventually reached the stairs and made his way slowly towards Avery's office. The corridors were deserted - most students were still busy having dinner in the Great Hall. As he approached the Charms classroom, however, another student stood by the door, her expression of boredom replaced by one of surprise as he approached.

**"Rosie." **His voice was laced with a sort of smug eagerness. **"Not in Detention, are we??"**

**"Scorpius." **She said quietly, the tiniest hint of a smile tugging at her lips as she tossed her head.

**"What did you do this time?"**

**"Oh no, I think your answer will be far more interesting." **He leered at her, leaning across the door, his hand outstretched as if to grab her wrist.

Caught unawares, he was knocked back a few paces as the heavy wooden door burst open and Professor Avery appeared in the door frame.

**"Now, Rosi- ... Oh, Scorpius, I do apologise."** He was now rubbing the side of his head with a scowl.

**"Well, at least you're both here, come on - inside, the pair of you."**

Rose concealed a giggle as she stepped into the classroom, followed by a still-grumbling Scorpius. The detention was predictably dull, Avery had them using Reparo to fix a huge mound old textbooks and file them away in the store cupboard by their references and some bizarre index only a thoroughly bored and vindictive teacher could have come up with. After an hour or so, the Professor looked up from whatever she'd been working on at her desk and broke the silence of the room.

**"Rosie, that's all for tonight. Scorpius, I'd like you to merge the two piles and continue."**

**"Yes, Professor." **Rose stood up, picking up her bag and firing a dark smirk at Scorpius from behind it. Scowling, Scorpius slammed the book he was repairing down on the table and got to his feet. As he did so, however, Rose suddenly felt herself swaying on her feet and found herself sat next to her younger brother on the Hogwarts Express.

_**"Don't know why I've got to sit with you..."**_ Moaned Hugo, pulling a slightly squashed chocolate frog out of his pocket and inspecting it glumly.

_**"Believe me, Hugo, it's not any more enjoyable for me."**_Rose rolled her eyes and turned to stare out of the window. _**"If mum hadn't made me promise to stay with you and make sure you got off the train in one piece-"**_

_**"I'm eleven years old, Rosie!! I can look after myself!!" **_

Hugo yelped as his chocolate frog skittered away from him, croaking merrily to itself as it landed and stuck on the window next to Rose's head. Rose looked suitably unimpressed as she detached the wriggling confection and handed it to her brother, watching as he bit its head off grumpily and turned away from her.

The door clattered open after a while and Amy crept in, looking around as if expecting somebody to jump out at her. Amy was very tall and thin with grey eyes and wavy ash blonde hair pulled back into a short ponytail. She fiddled nervously with the pair of glasses perched neatly on her slightly upturned nose.

_**"There you are, Rosie! Aren't you going to come and sit with me and Mel? We're stuck in a carriage with Matthew Quince, and he's so dull, you won't believe some of the stuff he's coming out with - won't stop going on about his-"**_ She caught sight of Hugo, and a look of realisation dawned on her face. _**"Ohh, hello Hugo... first day today! Aren't you excited??"**_

Hugo grunted at her, pulling his feet up onto the seat next to him and folding his arms in sulky silence. Rose turned to look at her friend with a shrug and a helpless expression that said it all.

_**"Well... we're down by the conductors cabin." **_She returned Rose's look with one of pity. _**"We'll wait for you on the platform so we can go up to the castle together - we've got so much to catch up on, wait til Mel tells you where she and Dom went over the holidays!!"**_

With a great shudder, Rose's mouth dropped open to stare at Scorpius, who turned back to the pile of books ahead of him as if nothing had happened. Regaining her composure, Rose swept from the room with her bag hugged close to her chest. She let out an indignant huff as she closed the door and stood outside the classroom leaning against the wall for a few minutes to get her thoughts in order before deciding that Amy and Mel might still be in the Great Hall chatting if she was quick enough to catch them.

The remainder of his detention was fairly uneventful, and as he got up to leave the room, Professor Avery crossed the room to stand beside him. He was already slightly taller than she was, and looked down at her with an expression of muted interest.

**"Scorpius," **She sighed. **"I'm afraid I'm going to have to have a word with Professor Flitwick if your grades continue to suffer like this. I'm not sure what it is about my lessons that bore you, but-"**

**"Your lessons don't bore me." **He spoke flatly, as if reading out of a textbook.

**"Well, they obviously don't stimulate you to give your best in the subject. I've seen what you're capable of, Scorpius, and your potential is far greater than your grades suggest."**

Scorpius didn't respond, his cool gaze had just found that of the Professor's and was peering at her intently, watching as her concentration swam momentarily through her eyes. Avery frowned at him, suddenly overcome by the feeling that the room was melting away like morning mist, and looking around to see herself sitting in one of the wooden chairs opposite Professor Flitwick's desk.

_**"Oh, I don't know, I don't know..." **_He was mumbling to himself as he thumbed through papers on his desk, peculiar devices buzzing and whirring on the shelves all around him.__

_**"Filius..." **_She said quietly, craning her neck to see him over the mound of work on his desk. _**"The Headmaster did suggest you accept some help - I want to help you - you taught me everything I know, and I want to give something back - both to you and to Hogwarts. I'd not have come for the interview if I didn't believe I could do the job."**_

He continued mumbling to himself, although on closer inspection it appeared he was merely twiddling his thumbs, rather than engrossing himself in his tasks.

_**"Filius, please."**_

_**"I don't know, Hazel..." **_He hopped down from his chair and all but vanished behind his desk before emerging from one side, wringing his hands together as if deep in thought. _**"Working alongside one of my students..."**_

_**"It'd have to happen sooner or later." **_Avery spoke with a grin. _**"After all, you are the greatest Charms teacher in the country, if not the world - you'd have to take on one of your own students sooner or later!"**_

Flitwick's ears glowed a vivid pink as he suddenly developed a chronic cough, covering his mouth with a greying old handkerchief, avoiding her gaze.

_**"Hazel, Hazel, Hazel..." **_He coughed again, mopping his brow with the back of the hankie. _**"Your flattery will get you nowhere but in trouble, I always said that, even when you were just a first-year."**_

Avery protested, but he waved her away with a hand and crossed the room to where a small plaque stood on a shelf and pretended to be examining it closely before turning back to face her.

_**"I suppose you'd better get used to being called 'Professor', Miss Avery."**_

Avery turned just in time to see the tail of Scorpius' robes vanishing round the door as it slammed shut in his wake. Staring after him, wide-eyed, she took hold of the desk beside her for support and sank onto one of the benches. That boy needed more than just detention.

On his way back to the common room, Scorpius groaned inwardly as the sweeping form of Gryffindor's Keeper came speeding towards him down the corridor rather faster than it ought to, broom over one shoulder. The boy, better known as Dominic Slater was a well-set lad with long dark hair, a hooked nose and a handsome grin. His expression today, however, was one of loathing - a loathing that progressively worsened the closer he got to Scorpius. He came to a halt just in front of him and bared his teeth.

**"What's the matter, Malfoy? You look scared."**

**"Where's your Patronus, Slater? I'm surprised you've got the guts to talk to me without him - is he hiding in your pocket?"**

Sure enough, James Potter appeared out of the crowd shortly, leering over Dominic's shoulder, .

**"Ah, excellent." **Said Scorpius dryly. **"What's a sideshow without the main event."**

**"We've been looking for you." **James spoke with a grim smile, stepping to one side as the last of the three musketeers appeared at his side - a tall wiry boy with a mane of golden hair by the name of Bracken Morley. **"We've decided that the four of us need to have a little chat."**

They were a good-looking bunch - athletic, and each with the healthy glow of outdoors in their skin - quite unlike the almost greenish-pale of Scorpius' skin. Even in his forced arrogance, Scorpius weighed them up carefully and saw that with all the will in the world, he wouldn't stand a chance in a duel against these three - be it physical or otherwise.

**"Nice of the three of you to join me at such short notice, but unfortunately, we're going to have to postpone our meeting."**

Scorpius was looking for a way out - the three older boys had surrounded him, and now the stem of students headed for their dorms had slowed, leaving them almost alone in the wide corridor. He was subtly groping around in his robes for his wand as Dominic's face split into a cruel grin. Almost as soon as it appeared, however, his face took on the glazed air as if he'd been Confunded.

Dominic was twelve again, and standing over his younger sister with his wand in one hand. Tears flooded down her face as she tried to cover her nose, where large, painful-looking welts were beginning to appear.

_**"DOMINIC!" **_His mother, a pug-faced witch with short black hair was shrieking at him as she wrenched his wand away and bent to his sister's side. _**"There, there, Melanie, sweetheart - we'll have you all fixed up in a jiffy. Dominic, don't you dare move."**_

She stood slowly, helping a sobbing Melanie to her feet and patting her shoulder as she sent her off indoors.

_**"I hate her! I HATE YOU!" **_He was shouting and throwing his arms around, but twisting her hand in his hair in desperation, his mother shook him fiercely by the head until he was still.__

_**"I've had enough of your atrocious behaviour, you horrible boy!" **_Her face was white and taught with anger, tears of frustration pricking at her eyes. _**"Is it so much to ask for a single day's peace? Why can't you just be a good boy??"**_

Coming back to his senses, Dominic shuddered visibly.

**"Put your wand away, snake." **He growled through his teeth, narrowing his eyes.

**"How dare y-"**

**"JAMES!" **A familiar voice bounced down the hallway as James and Bracken turned to face the newcomer, Rose Weasley.

**"Little busy right now, Rosie..." **James turned a faint pink as she folded her arms and frowned at him admonishingly.

**"Three against one, bet you think you're really big, don't you." **James let his cousin pass without further argument, and she moved to Scorpius' side where she tugged at his elbow plaintively. **"Come on, Scorpius - Flitwick said he wants to see you in his office..."**

Scorpius pulled away from her, and following a long hard glare at Dominic, swept back the way he'd come from. Dominic twitched as if to go after him, but James caught his arm and shook his head, turning on his heel and leading the other boys back towards the Gryffindor common room. Rose stood in the corridor watching Scorpius float away with a look of pensive concern for a moment before nodding her head as if making a decision and setting off after him.


	3. My Memories

**3 - My Memories**

Rose caught up with Scorpius as he rounded a corner onto another corridor and came to an abrupt halt as the shimmering cloth of the Grey Lady's dress crossed his path. Taking her opportunity, Rose grabbed at his sleeve.

**"Scorpius-"**

He pulled his arm away from her and turned to face her angrily.

**"A thankyou would be nice," **She started indignantly, pausing as if expecting to be interrupted, but when Scorpius didn't speak, she continued quietly. **"Mel told me Dom and the others were going to be coming after you."**

**"Yeah, well thanks for dobbing me in." **He hissed, turning to head off again.

**"Oh, well, at least you've acknowledged you did something wrong this time!" **She ran to keep up with him. **"I suppose you'll be happy to learn that I didn't say anything to any of them, they've got no idea what happened in Avery's classroom."**

Slowing as he did, she gingerly reached out to pinch his sleeve again, lowering her voice.

**"The holidays are coming up soon." **Taking his grunt as an invitation to continue, she carried on. **"Are you going anywhere interesting?"**

**"Unless you call home 'interesting'."**

**"Tell me about it - gotta go to Gran's for most of the holidays..."**

She opened her mouth to continue, but whatever she'd intented to say was lost as Scorpius' face swam before hers, distorted as if she was looking at him through a block of ice. Sitting in a squat and weathered red armchair by the fire, she was watching two of her cousins tussle over a small box with a big red 'W' emblazoned on it proudly. The box seemed to be quivering as the two boys rolled across the floor, hitting each other and pulling at clothes and hair.

_**"Aiden, James, knock it off..."**_ She was so very sleepy - it was Boxing Day and they'd just finished dinner, she could still hear the adults chatting in the kitchen. Entirely unphased by her cousins' fight, she picked up a copy of 'One Hundred Ways to Charm Your Plants' and tossed it into the fray, catching the red-haired boy behind the ear. Taking his opportunity, James rolled out from under his cousin and grabbed the box, scuttling over to the fire and smirking grimly over it.

_**"Rosie! Don't help him!"**_Moaned the older boy, straightening his shirt.

_**"I'm not helping either of you." **_She scowled. _**"You're a Prefect now - aren't you old enough to know better??"**_

Aiden scowled at her, flushing slightly pink bneath his freckles and ruffling his hair. Her words seemed to have had some effect, however, because he left the room with a sigh, leaving Rose and James alone. Rose watched through half-closed eyes as James opened the box and pulled out a string of sweets, knotted together - one of their Uncle's 'Christmas Hampers' to apologise for his absence on Christmas Day.

_**"Skiving snackboxes - brilliant!" **_He cried, rummaging deeper into the box. _**"Nosebleed Nougat, Fainting Fancies, Puking Pastilles... what's this?" **_He peered at the labels carefully.

_**"Sneezing Sherberts, Gossiping Gumdrops, Sasparilla Sick-sticks, Trollnose Toffees... Gobstoppers? Since when did they sell Gobstoppers...?"**_

_**"I would advise you don't put that anywhere near your mouth..."**_ She sat up slightly and leaed forward.

_**"Not MY mouth, no..." **_He said with a dangerous grin, pushing the ominous sweets to one side and pulling out a handful of other items. _**"Self-inking and Spell-check quills... trick wands... Man, Uncle George and Lee are amazing." **_He beamed, loading the merchandise back into the box.

_**"Aunty Ginny will go spare..."**_

_**"Let her." **_He crooned, still looking proudly at the box's contents with a devious glint in his eye. _**"I'm going to pack this lot in my trunk right away. I can't wait to get back to school."**_

With a judder, Rose was rather closer to Scorpius' face than she wanted to be, his eyes mirrored in hers. Her expression hardened as she pulled away, wondering how much of that he'd seen.

**"Flitwick doesn't want to see you by the way."** She murmured, looking down.

**"I guessed."**

**"No you didn't." **Her eyes were boring into his now, as if searching for something. **"Where did you get so good at Legilimency, Scorpius?"**

He opened his mouth to reply, but was disrupted by the voice of an angry third-year marching down the corridor in the wake of somebdy much taller.

**"Don't you dare go anywhere near him, Dom! If you get yourself expelled over something as stupid as that... Mum'll kill you!!"**

Rose turned round with a gasp, just in time to step between Dominic and Scorpius as the older boy gave a tremendous snarl of rage.

**"You little rat, Malfoy-"** He shook his arm out of his sister's grip, missing the helpless look she threw at Rose. **"Forget wands, I'm gunna make you bleed."**

**"Dominic, stop it!! The last Quidditch match of the term is tomorrow! Do you want a suspension??" **Melanie was a foot shorter than him, but the family resemblence was striking - her usually perfect black hair was ruffled as his as she took hold of his arm again. **"You're nothing more than a bully."**

Her words seemed to stop him momentarily, as he turned incredulously to face her.

**"What did you call me?"**

**"You heard me." **Her face was pale with anger, just like her mother's.

In the moment's silence that followed, Rose made to catch Scorpius' arm and whisk him away to safety through the secret passages she knew so well, but as she turned to do so, he was gone. She stared dumbly at the space he had been standing, looking up and down the long corridor, but he had totally disappeared. Melanie's expression had softened from one of anger to one of desperation, and her hands dropped limply to her side as Dom swept off the way they came. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders helplessly at Rose, watching him glide off through a tapestry and vanish. Rose patted her on the shoulder gently.

**"Just because he's on the Quidditch team, he seems to think he can get away with anything." **She spoke after a moment, her voice weak. **"You were here, right? Did Malfoy hex him or something? What in Dumbledore's Whiskers made him so angry...?"**

Rose shrugged. She wasn't sure exactly what had happened between the four boys, but she had a pretty good idea.

**"Let's get back to the common room - it's coming up to curfew. I'll tell you what happened when we get there." **The two of them slipped wordlessly behind a nearby tapestry and hurried up to the tower in which the Ravenclaw common room lay.

Scorpius return was greeted by a total snubbing from Albus, who sat with his legs crossed and his head buried in a copy of _Intermediate Transfiguration_. Belinda Roberts wafted past him as he entered, twisting one of her long brown pigtails between her fingers mirthfully.

**"What he's trying to say, Malfoy, is that he's not talking to you."**

**"Thankyou, Belinda." **He said with a dry sarcasm. **"What's that growing out of your head? You might want to get it checked out."**

She gave a squeal of temper, but he was gone, his cloak disappearing off towards the boys' dormitory. Albus watched over the top of his book as she took a seat next to the fire, pulled out a quill and a roll of parchment with what looked like a half-completed essay on it, and began to write.

**"Dear Diary," **She said after a while. **"Scorpy-chops is in a foul mood today, so I decided to sit in the common room and make sure he's fully aware that I'm ignoring him."**

Albus looked up at her, unimpressed.

**"I do so wish he'd stop looking at girls, because I'd really quite like him to be my boyfriend."**

Albus dropped his book and growled.

**"Belinda."**

**"Albus." **She smiled at him, not nastily, but with all the grace and smugness of a cat holding a mouse captive. **"You know there was a great rumour about your namesake lighting the fire under that end of the cauldron."**

**"I've..."** Albus was used to such tauntings, but responding to them didn't get much easier. **"Shut up and stop spreading rumours."**

She smirked widely, rolling her essay away and swanking off towards the girls' dormitory.

Albus tossed and turned all night, staring over at Scorpius' bed jealously, envying the fact that he didn't have anything to worry about. Eventually, after laying awake for hours wondering how best to stay out of James' way for the next week or so, Albus slipped into a fitful sleep and awoke feeling thoroughly unrested. Snow had fallen overnight, but it was still bright and sunny in the grounds, so after breakfast, the pair joined the rest of the school on their walk down to the Quidditch pitch, which was decked out in the red and yellow of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. The crowd buzzed with excitement, waiting for the latter to let their new player out onto the field for the first time. The crowd's shouts rose to a crescendo as the two teams edged out onto the pitch - Gryffindor, proud and tall in their scarlet robes, and Hufflepuff, beaming and waving in their wake. It wouldn't take a genius to spot Hufflepuff's new player - Joseph Dodge was a tall gangly boy with spiky hair and a crooked nose, and amid shouts and jeers of the crowd, he took a great tumble and landed in a pained-looking heap on the ground. Albus grimaced as the Slytherins exploded into cackling, hissing laughter. Dodge rose to his feet, still grinning and continued waving until the two teams met in the centre of the pitch.

Albus watched his cousin Aidan step forward to shake the hand of the dark-skinned Hufflepuff captain, Catrina Welkins. The two smiled at each other cordially, equally matched in height, each casting an eye over their own team. Gryffindor looked oddly dour, but Hufflepuff seemed cheerful as ever. The referee, a rather ruffled-looking figure in a tweed jacket and wellingtons, waved a hand, signalling the two teams to mount their brooms. The teams faced off momentarily, Gryffindor's Keeper Dominic was so busy casting an eye round the stalls distractedly, he nearly missed the whistle instructing the players to take to the air. As one, the two teams rose, and upon the referees second whistle, the balls were released and the match began in earnest.

**"And it's Gryffindor in posession - Brooks takes hold of the quaffle-"** Emilie Brooks was a waif of a girl, and Gryffindor's best Chaser. If she were any paler, she might be invisible, as she flitted through the air, her face and white-blonde hair barely visible against the grey skies above the vivid red of her robes.** "Rumoured to be the great-granddaughter of a water nymph, she's passing straight through Welkins like Scotch mist to- OHH, quaffle snatched by Dodge!"**

The commentary box housed an agitated-looking sixth-year Gryffindor going by the name of Matthew Fletcher,and an equally stressed-looking Professor Stoat, Head of Hufflepuff House.

**"Dodge is passing back towards Welkins and a nice Bludger there from Morley! Narrowly avoided by Welkins, she shoots, she- SAVED by Slater! Good one Dom!"**

Dominic buzzed around the goalposts, weaving past a triuphant-looking Bracken as he sent the Quaffle flying towards Emilie again.

The match was fairly uneventful, with James snatching the Snitch just in time to win the match one hundred and ninety points to seventy. As the players descended though, something unusual happened. The two Bludgers broke free of their bounds and headed straight for Dodge, who was distracted by waving sadly to a disappointed Hufflepuff group. Despite Bracken and James' giving chase, the two balls struck Dodge hard - one smacked him straight in the face, and the other thumping him so hard in the small of his back that he toppled from his broom and dropped the last ten feet to thr ground, landing on his wrist.

**"Struck!" **Came a cry from the Commentator's box. **"Struck after time by two loose Bludgers!"**

James and Bracken were first in the scene, Bracken streaking off to retrieve Dodge's broom.

**"Dodge! You alright??" **James hopped off his broom, running to the Chaser's side.

Joseph rolled over to face him, his nose gushing blood. Aiden and Catrina reached them at the same time, while Bracken collected the two wayward Budgers and strapped them back into their case, slamming the lid with an air of finality. The crowd leaned forward to see the Hufflepuff Chaser, but the referee waved them away and albeit accompanied by a barage of complaints, soon the stalls were empty.

Despite the amount of blood running down his face, Dodge was beaming as he was carried off on a stretcher.

James, Bracken and Dominic were the last three left on the pitch, staring bemusedly after the Chaser. Somehow their victory was oddly hollow since his accident, and as they returned to the changing rooms, the hushed silence indicated everybody else felt the same. Aidan was waiting for them, and shook their hands in turn as they entered.

**"Good match boys, well played."**

By the time the three of them were through the showers and back in their school robes, only Emilie and Aidan remained in the changing rooms, sitting beside each other quietly with their fingers interlinked.

**"Bludgers." **Said Aidan, standing up as they came closer. **"Bludgers don't just do that."**

**"He said something about a pixie curse." **Said James, shrugging his shoulders as the other two rumbled agreement.

**"Why would Catrina let him out on the pitch if he was cursed?"**

**"I'll... we'll pay him a visit in the hospital wing, see if we can find anything out, if you want?"**

Aidan nodded at James, and without a further word, took Emilie's hand and wove off with her in tow. She looked back over her shoulder at them and shrugged loosely - the whole team had obviously been puzzling over the new development in their absence.

**"Weird, isn't it?" **Murmured Bracken in a thick Scottish drawl, leading the three out into the cold sunshine.

**"I heard rumours about him being a Bludger magnet, but I thought that just meant that the Hufflepuff Beaters weren't up to par..."** James looked down at his feet as they crunched through the shallow snow. **"We'll go up to the hospital wing after lunch - looked like his wrist was broken, so it's probably best not to get in the way. No doubt Welkins'll be up there yelling the odds."**

Lily was waiting for them just inside the castle doors, and flung herself at James, grinning from ear to ear and congratulating them on their win, bouncing over to hug Bracken with a wide smile. She moved as if to go for Dominic next, but stopped in her tracks and looked up at him curiously instead. He forced a smile and ruffled her hair playfully, following the other boys into the Great Hall for lunch.

**"By whole fabily's cursed, you see." **Dodge said proudly in the hospital wing later, rubbing his crooked nose with his uninjured hand. **"Fifty year pixie curse. Should wear off in about five years' tibe."**

James looked over at Dominic and shook his head slowly - the guy was absolutely barking.

**"Is this your dog?" **Asked Dodge with a wide smile, indicating the golden retriever resting its head in James' lap with its eyes half closed.

**"Uh... yeah."**

**"Oh, excellent - I mean, so many people have owls and cats and rats and toads nowadays..." **Dodge was enthusiastic about everything, even laughing heartily when the bottle of bone-regrowth potion burst from Matron's hands and smashed against the opposite wall.

James and Dominic were still fairly bemused when they left the hospital wig fifteen minutes later, the retriever tagging along at their heels faithfully.

**"Bracks, I think people are going to notice if you continue running around looking like that." **Dominic spoke without looking down at the dog, who grinned wolfishly and gave a great sneeze. **"I mean you look enough like a dog when you've only got two legs to- ow! Don't bite me, you son of a-!"**

James watched with a grin as Dominic took off at a run, pursued by the dog, leaping, barking and snapping at his heels whenever he stopped for long enough. Hogwarts grounds were still wet and cold, but the brisk fresh air was what the three boys needed, Bracken content to chase sticks, or run wide circles around them with all the enthusiasm of a puppy.

The day of the last Hogsmeade visit of the term was soon upon them, and Scorpius examined his reflection in the mirror as he pulled his cloak collar up round his face and ran a hand through his hair. After today's trip to the village, all the students would be headed off home for the Christmas holidays, and the Great Hall was decorated accordingly - great strings of glimmering fairy lights, enormous baubles hung on gigantic trees. Scorpius felt Albus' head lean against his warm back as they stood in the doorway, waiting for the school caretaker to check all the students off against the long list of names he gripped in one hand. In fact, he wasn't alone - the ghost of the former caretaker stood behind him, as sour and as nasty-looking as in life. Filch had suffered a similiar fate to Professor Binns of History of Magic, having dozed off in an armchair one evening and risen for work the next day to find one of the students had jinxed his mop and bucket so his hand went straight through them as he attempted to clean up the residual mess of one of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Filch's faithful cat Mrs Norris still stood by his side, although bedraggled and certainly not in the best of health, she was peculiarly lively considering she must be approaching thirty.

Scorpius smiled over his shoulder at Albus.

**"Tired?"**

Albus nodded, reaching into Scorpius' pocket and pulling out a shiny gold pocketwatch. After admiring his reflection in it for a moment, he flicked it open and peered at the inner workings. Similar to other wizard watches, it was lacking in hands, and instead had phases of the moon twirling round the outside.

**"Why's this taking so long?" **He groaned, clicking the watch shut and replacing it in Scorius' pocket with a sigh. Scorpius craned his neck to see the front of the line, where two fourth-years were standing off to one side in a heated discussion with the silvery figure of Filch.

**"... Looks like somebody's trying to take a dog to Hogsmeade."**

**"What?" **Albus leaned round and squinted over to the doors, and sure enough, James and Dominic were mid-flow in a heated argument with Filch, a growling Golden Retriever between them. He groaned.

**"Out of my way! Out of my way!!" **A tall Hufflepuff student with golden-blonde hair was weaving her way through the crowd. **"Head Girl coming through, move aside, come along now..."**

She barged straight past Albus and Scorpius, pushing herself between Filch and the dog.

**"Sorry, Filch, it's my dog..." **She said, her cheeks red with exhersion, panting as if she'd been running. **"I asked James and Dom if they'd take him out to Hogsmeade for me - he's been cooped up inside the castle for so long..."**

Filch sneered, looking down at where his cat Mrs Norris was hissing and spitting at the dog.

**"Heather-" **Started James, looking round at her as if she'd just popped out of a cauldron during potions class.

**"If it's not appropriate, I'll just take him for a walk round the lake instead..." **She said, ignoring James and reaching down to grab the surprised dog by the scruff of his neck.

**"Don't think you're getting away that easi-"** Growled Filch, but she was gone, running in the opposite direction with her fist clenched tight around the back of the dog's neck, and a face like stony thunder.

Bemused, James and Dominic found themselves ushered out into the courtyard, the two caretakers finding no further excuse to detain them, and the line began moving along at a pace. After assembling shortly in the grounds, the group of students were led off to the village, accompanied by a few teachers and the reminder that, as always, Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes were banned from the school. The reminder that, as always, fell on deaf ears as a large percentage of the students were to be found crammed into the joke shop, filling their pockets with goodies both to be distributed as Christmas presents, and to be saved for the start of next term.

Scorpius hung back as Albus stopped beside the wide steamy window through which, very little of the inside was visible.

**"Aren't you coming?" **He asked, his hand lingering on the doorhandle as he turned back to look at his friend.

**"I'll... I'll wait out here."**

**"I'll only be a minute." **Albus mumbled, slipping through the door with an apologetic smile.

The interior of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes was entirely contradictory to the snow-covered front of the shop - it was filled to bursting, and brimming over with the laughter and whoops of excited students as they pondered over what to buy. Albus' eyes lingered on a display housing 'Croaker Powder', bags of powder offering the chance to 'turn your enemies into toads! (lasts up to 24 hours)', and was quite engrossed in pondering how he could put one to good use when a heavy hand clapped him on the shoulder, and the grinning face of his uncle George appeared beside him.

**"Uncle George!" **He gasped. **"I thought you'd be at Diagon Alley!"**

**"Couldn't miss the Christmas Hogsmeade trip now, could I!" **George beamed, straightening his long magenta robes. **"Lee and I decided to leave Verity in charge of our London branch so we could spend the day here with you terrible lot."**

Albus smiled, but before he could continue his conversation, George was called away, and with an apologetic squeeze of his shoulder, he was gone. Albus pushed his way through a throng of crooning girls gathered around the tank of Pygmy Puffs and made his way towards the till, where Lee was juggling an armful of boxes into bags. With a complicated flick of his wand, he had everything sorted away into packages and was leaning over to collect sickles from a smiling Bethany Wood, Gryffindor's fifth-year Chaser.

**"Albus!" **He grinned and waved over the top of her head, dropping money into the till, which made a delightful chirruping noise as a small flock of birds burst out of it. **"Tell your mum we're looking forward to Christmas Eve!"**

That's right, he'd completely forgotten! In her last letter, she'd had been waxing lyrical about Christmas, and he hadn't really paid it might attention. He made a mental note to read the letter properly when he got back to the castle, in case she'd be expecting him to know what everybody's plans were supposed to be when she picked them up from King's Cross the next day.

He was scanning the room for George when he noticed Scorpius in discussion with a group of people outside. Cringing, because Scorpius wasn't exactly a big fan of crowds, he ducked outside to see what was going on. As he neared the door, he cursed under his breath as James' face swam into focus beside Dominic. Shoving his way outside, Albus stopped with his head on one side.

**"Leave it out, James!" **Growled Rose, flanked by Amy and Melanie. **"Or do you wanna stay at Hogwarts all Christmas?"**

Scorpius was quietly ignoring all of them, picking dirt out of his fingernails and looking for a chance to leave. Albus stepped over to him.

**"What's going on...?"**

**"I challenge you, Malfoy. A duel. First week back."**

Scorpius looked up, his cool gaze locking with James'. Time seemed to slow around them, Rose's angry retorts and the sound of Melanie tugging her brother's arm and telling him to do something, everything slowed to a stop, leaving James standing by the fireplace at Grimmauld Place in the middle of an argument with Lily.

_**"So you get the map, he gets the cloak, and I get told to stay out of trouble!! How is that fair??" **_Tears were streaming down her face, and nothing he said could comfort her, even if he'd been trying.

_**"Yeah well, little girls should behave themselves." **_She was howling by now, and he grimaced. _**"And would you shut UP, Lily!"**_

Albus shuffled round the door and upon seeing his sister in tears, ran to her side.

_**"What've you been doing to her??" **_He put an arm round her shoulders. _**"There there, Lily, he's just trying to-"**_

She shoved him away with a squawk and ran from the room, leaving both boys staring at each other as the sound of her footsteps stomped through the old house and upstairs to her bedroom.

As Scorpius turned to leave, there was a great kerfuffle and spray of snow as Bracken came bounding up the highstreet and skidded straight into Dominic.

**"Sorry about that guys, I-"**

**"Oh yeah, Bracken, forgot about you. Mistaken at birth for a golden retriever. That would explan the ridiculous name." **Scorpius' voice as crisp and clear as the air. **"Must've given your poor mum a right shock when her dog couldn't fetch."**

Bracken's eyes narrowed, as if noticing Scorpius for the first time. James shook himself mentally and gave a lurch towards Scorpius, grabbing the back of his robes and throwing him to the ground. Bracken hesitated for a moment before jumping into the fray, but Dominic found himself held back by the angry shrieks of his sister.

Albus and Rose looked at each other over the top of the fight, and when it didn't look as though he was about to get involved, Rose dropped to the floor next to Scorpius and started trying to shove James away, shouting the odds at them. Soon, they had attracted a crowd.

**"POTTER! MORLEY!!"** Bellowed Hagrid, pushing his way through the assembled students and lifting both boys by their collars. **"What on earth d'yeh think yer doing??"**

Rose scrambled to her feet, pulling a very reluctant Scorpius with her. The gamekeeper frogmarched the two boys back to the castle sternly, telling Rose and Scorpius to follow. Albus, Dominic and Melanie trailed after them.

**"Don't sigh like that, Dom." **Said Melanie after a while, adjusting her alice band carefully. **"You're just lucky you're not involved! AND the fact that I did all your Christmas shopping for you before your clever old mates decided to do that!"**

**"Shut up, Mel." **Dominic growled, and that was the end of that. She refused to speak to either of them the rest of the way up to the castle.

James, Bracken, Scorpius and Rose found themselves suspended from Hogsmeade visits next term, despite numerous protests. Rose took it in her stride, but Bracken and James were furious, emerging red-faced from McGonagall's office and storming off down the corridor with a glum-looking Dominic in tow. Scorpius followed shortly after, shuffling over to Albus without a word.

**"No more Hogsmeade for me..." **Murmured Rose a little sadly, linking arms with Melanie as she left the office. **"Wait, Scorpius, can we talk...?"**

Scorpius looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, before shaking his head and marching off in the opposite direction. Rose sighed.

**"Are you all packed, Albus? Mum said Hugo and I were going with you three from King's Cross."**

**"Uh... yeah, well, I'll see you tomorrow Rosie." **Albus left the two girls and hurried after Scorpius.

He caught up as they reached the great staircase, but neither boy spoke until they were back in their dormitory. Packed trunks lined the walls of the commonroom, only Albus' trunk was still left open beside his bed.

**"My brother... is a troll."** He mumbled dejectedly, flopping onto his bed and looking up at Scorpius.

**"No argument there."** Scorpius took a seat next to him and sighed, there wasn't a lot to say.

Hagrid looked guilty, standing on the platform the next morning. He wouldn't make eye contact with James or the others, instead pretending to be suddenly interested in potential Nifflers inhabiting a tree hanging overhead when they looked in his direction. Although nobody had mentioned it to her, Lily noticed something was wrong with the gamekeeper and quietly took his hand when the others weren't looking.

**"Whatever you're worried about," **She said boldly, her face determined and serious. **"It'll all be fine in the end."**

**"Bless you, Lily." **He chuckled and patted her on the head. **"Yer a chip off the ol' block alright - sound just like yer father when he were your age."**

She beamed up at him, jumping slightly as the train gave a great whistle. Hagrid hurried her on board, took one last look up and down the platform to check for stragglers and waved them on their way.

Soon, the train was leaving the jumbled countryside, and Albus stared bleakly out of the window as the wide fields condensed into bordered gardens and trimmed hedges, before eventually melting into the dull grey of the city. Scorpius dozed fitfully, his head occasionally coming to rest on Albus shoulder, before jerking himself upright again. The two shared a compartment with Rose, Hugo, Lily and Melanie, the four of whom were discussing Christmas plans and wishes animatedly. Albus fidgetted a little closer to Scorpius - a whole two weeks shut indoors with James was starting to look like an awfully long time, and he was going to miss Scorpius a lot more than he let on.


	4. Time Out

**4 - Time Out**

Ginny and Harry were waiting to meet them as they were guided off the platform in small groups, and by the time Albus and Scorpius made their way through the iron gates of Platform 9 3/4, Ginny was smiling a little impatiently at them.

**"Come on Albus, we haven't got all day!"** She grinned and opened her arms wide for a hug.

Albus hesitated, looking at Scorpius sadly. Scorpius flashed a covert smile and wave in his direction before trailing off to where his mother and father were standing quietly. From his mother's arms, Albus watched as a slightly reluctant-looking Scorpius was also embraced by his mother. Draco stood a head taller than the pair of them, wearing the high-collared black coat he seemed to live in.

**"Right, we've got the car waiting outside." **Harry spoke, squeezing Albus' shoulders in greeting. **"Everybody here? Right, follow me then!"**

The group trailed behind Harry out to the front of the station, a decidedly surly-looking James bringing up the rear, alongside Hugo who was gazing around the high-roofed grey station as if he'd never seen one before.

**"Isn't Aidan coming, Auntie Ginny?" **Asked Rose, looking around the soot-filled station for a glimpse of her cousin's spiky red hair.

**"He's gone to stay with Uncle George until Christmas Eve." **Ginny smiled, ferrying Lily ahead of her.

**"How come he gets to go and stay with George?" **James stopped so abruptly Hugo narrowly avoided skittering into him. **"Why can't I go and stay with them??"**

**"Because he's... James, please, you've not been back ten minutes."**

Teddy was waiting in the car, splayed out on the back seat with his feet resting on the driver's chair, a lazy grin decorating his face as the small family veered into view. Ginny admonished him playfully as she shuffled him out of the car to make room for everybody. His hair was a vivid green and he laughed as with a squeal, Lily launched herself at him like a small red-haired cannonball.

**"Teddy! I missed you!!" **She buried her face in his grey t-shirt and clung there like a burr as he laughed.

**"Missed you too, Lils - how was your first term? How did you get on with Transfiguration?"**

**"She's a natural." **Rose beamed over Lily's head at Teddy, loading her trunk into the back of the car alongside James' hooting tawny owl, Puck. **"Oh, do be quiet Puck, we'll be there soon."**

Albus' barn owl looked as somber as he did, turning dark globelike eyes on him as he lifted his trunk in on top of Rose's and reached out to pet the bird. Flick clicked her beak and nibbled his fingers. Albus smiled and turned away from her, helping Ginny lift Lily's luggage into the boot before closing the lid with a heavy slam.

**"Surprised you're not off having fun with George and Lee." **James spoke to Teddy in a low voice, looking down at his feet.

**"Nah, I've got better things to do than lend my constitution to those two for experiments." **Teddy grinned, thumping James on the shoulder. **"Believe me, I'd rather be eating dinner at your Mum's than whatever they've got planned."**

James seemed brighter after that, managing a smile as they turned into the tired old street ahead of number twelve, Grimmauld place and parked the car nearby. It was hardly necessary to keep the once-Headquarters a secret anymore, but Harry smiled as the house slid into view between eleven and thirteen. As soon as the group stepped over the doorstep, the hallway was awash with suitcases, bumping their way towards the floors above and into bedrooms as Ginny waved her wand masterfully at the foot of the stairs.

**"Rose - you'll be in Lily's room, and Hugo, you're with Albus. Go on, hurry through to the kitchen, you must be hungry!"**

Herded down the stairs to the basement level kitchen, Albus spared an eye for the photographs lining the walls - smiling portraits of people he would never know - Uncle Fred and Teddy's parents among them. The beaming faces waved at him from their frames, as if welcoming everybody home. The kitchen was already decorated for Christmas, with only the tall tree stood by the fire left bare. A wizened old house-elf appeared beside it with a grim smile, grinning toothily at Lily as she ran and stooped to hug him.

**"Kreacher!" **She cried. **"It's so good to see you - how have you been?"**

**"Kreacher has been very well, but missing young mistress in her absence." **Said the old elf, his quavery voice accompanied by a smile. **"Would mistress like a cup of tea?"**

He was already bowing and shuffling towards the kettle when Harry ushered James into the room, ruffling his hair proudly. Albus noticed with a faint smirk of triumph that James had evidently elected not to fill his father in on the details of what happened on the previous day.

The days before Christmas Eve came and went, the girls decorated the tree and hung tinsel along the bannisters as Kreacher pottered amongst the family, spoiling the youngsters with fat chicken and ham sandwiches accompanied by sugary tea. The house was cozier and more inviting than it had ever been in its hundred years' service to the Black family, before being left to Harry following the death his Godfather. The portrait of Sirius' mother still hung over the entrance hall, as if holding council above all who entered. Occasionally the curtains would fly back from the portrait, revealing her face red with fury, but while the Potters hadn't been able to remove the frame from the wall, they had managed to silence the angry woman, and James laughed in her face as he pulled the curtains shut over her silent screams.

George, Angelina and Lee Apparated on the doorstep on Christmas eve with Aidan, Fred and Roxanne in tow, their arrival greeted by a flurry of feathers as they disrupted the owls from their perches by posting a great handful of indoor fireworks through the letterbox.

**"GEORGE!" **Roared Ginny, storming out of the kitchen and up the stairs to admonish her brother, but Lily beat her to the door, flinging it open and jumping into the arms of her uncle gladly.

With a flourish, Lee presented Ginny with a large bouquet of winter flowers, which rather allayed her temper as she calmed the owls. Angelina shuffled past with a sheepish grin, herding Fred and Roxanne before her.

**"Ohh, didn't you invite Verity? I did say she was welcome..." **Ginny surveyed the doorstep behind them, mild disappointment apparent in her voice.

**"I asked her to come, but she'd already made plans to go to Alaska with her family for Christmas. We've been working triple shifts since she left on Tuesday!" **Smiling, George shooed Lily away, and with a flourish of his wand, a great number of cardboard boxes marched their way into the hall and piled up the stairs.

**"Those had better not be what I think they are, George..."**

**"Of course they're not!" **Grinned George, leaning down to hug his sister before he, Aidan and Lee followed Lily and the others down the kitchen.

**"Isn't Uncle Percy coming too?" **Lily asked, taking Aidan's hand and looking up at him curiously.

**"Not tonight," **Aidan shook his head. **"But he said he'll try and come to the Burrow for lunch tomorrow."**

**"We're going to the Burrow tomorrow??" **Lily's face was alight with excitement as she turned to her father. **"It's Christmas, and we're going to go see Nanny and Grandad??"**

Harry laughed.

**"Well, it was supposed to be a secret, but..."**

Christmas Eve sped past in a blur and Albus was glad to be able to creep off to bed without having said a word to James all evening. The less time the two of them spent together, the less chance James would have to vent his frustrations on him, and the less chance he had of ending up bruised. Thankfully though, James was very much enamoured with George and Lee, and spent most of the evening chatting with them, Aidan and Teddy, as the five of them enchanted the cutlery to dance or scattered pieces of confetti for Rose's flat-faced ginger cat to chase.

The family set off for the Burrow early the next morning, after opening their presents and enjoying a quick breakfast prepared by Kreacher. Leaving the house-elf in charge of things, they packed into the bewitched car and set off through the snow toward the rickety house in Ottery St Catchpole.

Molly Weasley was waiting to greet them at the gate, dressed in a thick tweed jacket and wellingtons, her hair long-since greyed, but her face warm and smiling as ever. Seizing each of her grandchildren in turn, she crooned over them one by one as she sent them off towards the house where Bill, Fleur, Dominique, Louis and Victoire sat around the table. Nobody so much as blinked when Victoire ran to greet Teddy as he bustled in, arms laden with bags. Soon, everybody was settled in the cozy livingroom, which seemed smaller and more full than ever before.

**"Ohh, it's so good to see you all..." **Said Molly, squeezing the shoulders of the nearest person she could find, who just so happened to be Hugo. **"Now, Percy, Audrey, Ron and Hermione should be here shortly. Oh, Merry Christmas! Who wants some butterbeer?"**

Even Albus enjoyed Christmas, preoccupied as he was. It was great to be surrounded by so many of the people he loved, although he rather wished he'd been allowed to bring his best friend along. A feeling which deepened as, with a victorious bark of laughter, Heather and Bracken appeared in the doorstep four days before the start of term.

**"Bracks!" **James rushed out to greet his friend, hugging him and laughing.

**"Auntie Mabel said you were around - Mam packed us off down here on Boxing Day, said it'd be easier to get to London this way, but I'm not sure I agree." **Bracken smiled, shrugging his shoulders loftily. **"Sure owls look a bit weird on the Intercity, but at least Glasgow's not the middle of nowhere!"**

**"We can try Side-Along-Apparition from here, Bracks! And you've got some explaining to do, haven't you." **Heather elbowed him in the ribs with a smile.

**"Oh yeah, that..." **Bracken looked at her sheepishly. **"Yeah, I... I got stuck-"**

**"As Padfoot." **James finished the other boy's sentence for him, laughing. **"We guessed."**

**"Mmm. Heather had to help me change back."** Bracken smiled at the sound of his nickname - it had been James' father's suggestion to call him that, and while it was a bit unusual, he wore it as a badge of honour.

**"And if it happens again, just leave him where he is and he'll find me."** She shook her head. **"I can't believe you tried to get him out past Filch and that cat!"**

**"Come inside guys, it's too cold out here! Maybe you can come up to London with us!"**

Heather protested faintly as James led them into the kitchen, but was suitably grateful and quite relieved when 'Mr and Mrs Potter' offered to help the pair of them get to King's Cross the following Sunday. Albus watched jealously as James showed off his Christmas presents to Bracken, and shared chocolates with him, laying belly-down on the living room floor. Ginny seemed to have noticed, because she appeared at his side and put her arm round his shoulders gently, speaking quietly so that only he could hear.

**"You can have a friend to stay over the summer if you like." **

**"Thanks mum, but..." **Albus looked down and leaned into her. **"My best friend doesn't get along very well with James, so..."**

**"Well, why don't you go and stay with him then?"**

**"I... don't think that would be a good idea." **He shrugged her off with a grateful smile and slid off into the kitchen where Molly, Hermione and Rose were busy preparing for dinner.

Ginny wasn't to be thrown off that easily, however, following him through and cornering him by the sink, where a bowl of peas were carefully shelling themselves into a bowl of water.

**"It's that Malfoy boy, isn't it?" **Rose's ears pricked up behind her.

**"So what if it is, mum - James is giving me a really hard time about it and I don't need it from y-"**

**"No, no, no, Albus." **Ginny smiled, patting him on the shoulder. **"I know you choose your friends carefully-"**

**"He's really not that bad, Auntie Ginny." **Piped up Rose, looking over the bowl of carrots she was peeling. **"Just that James absolutely hates him for some reason."**

Ginny smiled.

**"Well, his father and yours never really saw eye-to-eye."**

Albus looked up at her suddenly. He'd heard his parents mention the Malfoys before he joined Hogwarts, but neither of them had ever gone into much detail about the family. He'd heard Uncle Ron muttering about them in the past, and heard him chiding Rose to beat Scorpius on every test, but he'd never really known exactly why his father and uncle seemed to have something against Scorpius' parents. Ginny noticed his curious expression and continued with a slightly weathered smile.

**"A very long time ago - long before either of you two were born,"** Molly coughed into the sink. Ginny frowned at her before continuing. **"The Malfoys were supposedly involved in Lord Voldemort's affairs."**

**"You mean..." **Albus gasped. **"Scorpius' dad was a..."**

**"Well, more likely his grandfather, but they were believed to be great supporters of His, way back when."** Ginny smiled at Albus' aghast expression. **"Oh, Al, don't look so serious, there's not enough hours in the day for somebody your age to worry so much - it's all in the past now."**

**"Albus, would you mind giving Rosie a hand?" **Molly smiled and passed Rose another handful of carrots, seeming suitably impressed at this sugar-coated white lie. Hermione didn't look quite so impressed, squinting at Ginny subtly from the narrow worksurface behind Rose where she was engaged in chopping potatoes with a grim relish.

Albus moved to sit next to Rose, his head now spinning with possibilities and visions of Draco Malfoy standing on the platform edge with a hand clasped around Scorpius' arm, hiding a great and terrible evil beneath his cloak. The thought made him feel rather ill as he picked up a peeler and set to work beside her in silence.

**"Scorpius is a very good Legilimens." **Said Rose after a while, making Molly drop a dish into the sink as she jumped. **"Isn't that highly advanced magic?"**

Ginny looked at her curiously as Albus sunk in his seat.

**"Your mum might know more about it than I do..." **She trailed off, looking over at Hermione who was suddenly intensely interested in one of the gnomes making rude gestures at her from the lawn.

**"Mum?" **Rose turned to look at Hermione hopefully. **"I tried to find some books on it in the library, but there wasn't really much about it - things about maintaining eye contact... more about how to do it, or to avoid it than about what exactly it is."**

**"It's a branch of magic not generally taught at Hogwarts." **Hermione said sharply, aware, as Ginny was, of Molly listening with bated breath.

**"So..."** Rose mulled this over for a moment, frowning in concentration. **"Is it a spell, or...?"**

**"I believe it is usually cast with the incantation 'Legilimens', and that similar to a curse, eye contact is often essential."** Said Hermione, sounding almost guilty as she turned to look at the back of Molly's head. Molly said nothing, but she was very obviously listening - twenty years on, and she was ever more protective of her family.

Albus wasn't going to say anything, but he was more than familiar with the finer workings of Legilimency. He'd picked up various tricks to avoid Scorpius probing his mind in the past two years - both from books and from experience. He'd tried studying Occlumency once, but he'd given up upon realising there was only so much you could learn with books, and without letting Scorpius onto what he was planning, he had no way to put the theory into practise. The only thing he really knew about Scorpius' skill, besides the fact that it seemed to be gaining strength as he got older, was the fact that it was not textbook Legilimency, if indeed it was Legilimency at all.

**"Scorpius doesn't use an incantation."** Rose set down her peeler and crossed her legs beneath her, watching her mother with wide, unblinking eyes. **"Also, I read that the subject ought to be thinking about the subject the Legilimens wishes to see... or rather, the Legilimens can only see what the subject is currently thinking about."**

**"I... from what I understand, I believe that is correct." **Hermione turned back to the potatoes and shuffled her feet, her speech uncharacteristically mitigated.

**"But Scorpius can pull up any memory, and he doesn't always seem to make eye contact either!"** Rose sounded intrigued, seeming excited by the prospect, speaking with a hint of what almost sounded like pride in her voice.

**"More carrots, Rosie!" **Without saying as much, Molly declared the conversation to be over, as she deposited another handful of carrots between Rose and Albus. **"Hermione, dear, would you go and ask the boys to bring in some more wood from the garage?"**

Albus elbowed Rose sharply as her mother nodded and padded into the other room, followed by Ginny. She shot him a reproachful look and he glowered back, but neither of them spoke, engaging in a silent argument behind Molly's back, finishing when Rose turning away from him with a swish of her bushy hair and realising she'd manage to peel so much of the carrot in her hand that it bent limply in half as she looked down at it. She dropped it in the bin with the peel and set to work on the pile between them with an angry sigh.

Albus managed to avoid being alone with her until the night before they were due to leave for London, when she caught him by himself in the room he was sharing with Hugo and Teddy.

**"There you are!"**

**"I'm packed, I'm packed!" **He moaned groggily, pulling himself up from where he had obviously been dozing on the bed.

**"It's just me, silly." **She grinned.

**"Oh great." **he said dryly, sitting back down on the bed and rubbing his eyes. **"What do you want?"**

**"I want to talk to you about Scorpius."**

**"That's nice, I don't."**

**"Albus-"**

**"Rosie, for God's sake stop sticking your nose in, honestly, you're just making trouble for us." **Although he hadn't said anything, Albus had been given the distinct impression that Scorpius certainly didn't appreciate his sister's interfering, nor her standing-up for him in front of James and his cronies.

**"You know what he does, don't you. He must be doing it to you - he brings up a strange old memory, and it doesn't have any relevance to what's going on or what you're thinking."**

Albus rolled his eyes and ignored her, getting up to look out of the window grumpily.

**"From what I've read, it doesn't seem like standard Legilimency, but I think it is, anyway." **She paused as if waiting for a reaction, but carried on when Albus continued to ignore her. **"I don't think he has any control over it."**

This made Albus turn slightly to look over at a point above her head.

**"What do you mean?"**

**"I think," **She continued, smiling now, glad to have his attention. **"I think that while he may have the power to turn it on and off, as it were, I don't think he can control where in a person's mind he ends up. I think he also might do it when he feels threatened - I think he did it to James when we were in Hogsmeade, but James'll never admit it. Also, he did it to Dom in one of the corridors, and whatever memory he saw made Dominic really angry."**

She sighed and stopped when Albus didn't make an effort to say anything, merely turned back to the window and looked out at the clouded winter skies. She moved as if to leave, but turned to look back at him before she did so.

**"I just don't know if he's doing it on purpose or not and of course he won't tell me."** She waited for an offer of help, but when it didn't seem forthcoming, she added: **"I was wondering if you could talk to him and find out for me."**

**"He's not your school project Rose. Just leave him alone." **Albus didn't say it, but in truth he doubted if Scorpius would tell him anyway. Partially because he'd be too proud to admit to not being in complete control, and partially because it was just his way - he played his cards very close to his chest, even in front of Albus. It was certainly something to think about though - it would explain why he wouldn't stop doing it, even after a few rather serious arguments about it, maybe he wasn't doing it on purpose to rile Albus up after all.

Albus was even quieter as normal as they set off back to Grimmauld Place the next afternoon. Rose and Hugo left with their parents in the morning, leaving Albus in the car with his brother, sister, mother, father and Aiden, as well as Heather and Bracken, both looking faintly embarrassed. Lee and George left the Burrow in a hurry on Boxing Day, saying something about a delivery of Knarl quills and Verity having an unfortunate phobia of spiders - neither hung around long enough to explain the connection between the two. Angelina made polite excuses and left shortly after, collecting Percy's daughters Molly and Lucy, as well as her own brood with her as she went.

**"Your Dad must be busy at the Ministry, Aiden." **Heather spoke as if she couldn't bear another moment's silence in the back pressed so close to him.

**"What? Oh, yeah. He's going for the Ultimate promotion, he says." **Aiden smiled humourlessly, the lack of conviction in his tone could hardly be more apparent. **"I think Mum's finding it quite hard, with all the overtime he's putting in, but it should pay off if he becomes Minister."**

**"Well, that was a conversation killer!" **Laughed Bracken brightly. **"How about them Wanderers, eh?"**

James groaned.

**"Honestly Bracken, that team are never gunna win the league in a million years!"**

**"'Specially not with the Falcons going through the ranks so quickly this year."**

**"Yeah, but the Falcons'll be disqualified before long - always happens."**

The journey back to London was filled with the animated discussion of the Quidditch league, and by the time they reached Grimmauld place, it was already dark. Heather sat in the kitchen with Lily and Albus while James excitedly gave Bracken a tour of the house. Ginny mumbled to herself about how empty the house felt when everybody went back to school, as she and Kreacher made packed lunched for the three Potter children, their cousin, and their two guests. Heather had told them not to worry about her and Bracken, but couldn't hide a delighted smile when Kreacher insisted. The three of them looked up when a loud bark came from one of the floors above.

**"Is it true that you're an Animagus too, Heather?" **Asked Lily, blinking at her excitedly over a cup of tea.

**"Yes, that's right, Lily." **Heather laughed. **"But unlike my brother, I don't use it to stir up trouble, and I certainly don't get stuck that way anymore."**

**"Wow..." **Lily didn't seem able to come up with anything beyond that, and instead sat staring at her in awe.

**"How did you become Animagi...?" **Asked Albus, his curiosity piqued.

**"Looking to become one, are we, Albus?" **Heather smiled, clucking in an almost motherly fashion. **"It's quite advanced magic - there's not many Witches and Wizards in the country who can do it, and you have to be registered with the Ministry. Our mam was an Animagus, so I think we sort of inherited it... although it took a lot of practise - I heard it can go terribly wrong, which is why I have to keep an eye on wee Bracks at school. Don't want him stuck with four legs forever, although I'm sure he'll make a charming pet for somebody someday."**

**"Oh..." **Albus looked down at the floor. **"My Grandad was an Animagus."**

**"Then maybe it's something you should look into! How good's your Transfiguration?"**

Heather was always cheerful. She didn't often talk about herself, and spent most of her time encouraging others or chiding her brother back in line. It was presumably for these reasons that she had been chosen as Head Girl. She was nice enough, but Albus found her optimism to be rather overbearing, and so excused himself to bed early, locking his door and spending the next few hours laying on his bed in the dark, looking up at the ceiling.

He must've drifted off, because the next thing he remembered was the sound of James pounding impatiently on his door.

**"C'mon Al! We'll be late!!"**

He hurried out of bed and downstairs to where everybody was having breakfast. Wolfing two pieces of toast and marmalade, one of which he finished in the car, they were soon on their way back to the train. Albus looked around for any sign of Scorpius and his parents, but was eventually forced into the train as the whistle blew for it's departure.

**"We'll write every day, Jamesy-pops!" **Teased Ginny, grinning devilishly at James and reaching out to squeeze Lily's hand with a wink as she did so. **"See you in the summer! If you have any problems, sweetheart, you know we're only an owl away."**

The train soon left Harry and Ginny behind in the misty gloom of the station platform, devoid of colour now the rich scarlet train was speeding off through the countryside. James shot off like a rocket with Bracken, while Aidan and Heather set about patrolling the corridors, leaving Albus and Lily alone as they shuffled to find a compartment. Finally he caught sight of Scorpius, sitting hunched up by a window, surrounded by burly Slytherin boys.

**"Sorry Lily..." **Albus slid the door to Scorpius' carriage open and smiled at him. **"Scorpius."**

Scorpius looked up, shoving the boy nearest him away to make room for Albus. He picked his way across the compartment and flopped down next to Scorpius, feeling ever so slightly uneasy at the large boys leering at him from the opposite seats.

**"Was wondering when you'd show up, Sev - I'd like to introduce you to my associates." **Scorpius gestured round the room, pointing at each boy in turn.

**"Flint-"** He gestured at a boy with a flat face and a wide nose, big teeth and a dangerous looking grin - Albus wondered if he didn't have some troll blood in him. **"Bulstrode." **Seated next to Flint was a well-built seventh-year Albus recognised as one of the prefects from his first year. **"Warrington." **Closest to Albus sat the third-year Beater, a boy with pale yellowish skin, a strong chin and big fists. **"And Goyle." **Jason Goyle sat nearest the door, the only occupant Albus was any more than familiar with - Goyle was in the year below them, but already had a reputation for being a bit of a bully, with small piggy eyes and curly hair. He sneered at Albus in way of greeting.

Albus was cordial to these boys for the train journey, listening to them boast about duels they'd won with a sinking feeling in his stomach. He had half an idea why Scorpius might suddenly be associating with such people, but it was quite unlike him to suddenly aquire a crew of bodyguards - there seemed to be something more to it than that.


	5. Invisibility

**5 - Invisiblility**

Albus found it hard to catch Scorpius alone over the next few days, as lessons resumed at their usual pace, teachers setting far more homework than the students felt was strictly necessary. Scorpius always seemed to be tailed by at least one of his new 'friends' outside classes, and even in the dormroom they couldn't get away, because Warrington shared their dorm. Scorpius himself, however, seemed to be no more smug or less cautious in his movements than usual. If he'd collected the 'dream team' to keep James and his friends at bay, Albus would have expected him to be rubbing the new developments in James' face at every opportunity, but instead he kept far out of James' way.

Albus' nights were disturbed by questions he couldn't ask. Questions he longed for answers to, but ones he had neither the nerve nor the willingness to voice. Was this anything to do with what Rose had been waxing on about over the holidays? Albus had been looking for the tell-tale glazed expression of one subjected to Legilimency, but in truth, Flint, Bulstrode, Warrington and Goyle always seemed look as if they had been recently concussed anyway, so it was hard to tell.

The first Quidditch match of the year was rapidly approaching - Slytherin vs Gryffindor, and even with two of his allies frequently out on their brooms for practise, Scorpius kept Goyle and Bulstrode close at all times. However, three nights before the match, with Warrington out on the pitch, Albus seized his chance alone in the boys' dormitory.

**"Scorpius..."**

Scorpius looked up from his bed where he appeared to be engrossed in a copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Three_.

**"Where's Warrington got to, tonight?" **Albus sank onto his bed and peered over at his friend.

**"Quidditch practise." **Scorpius turned back to his book, speaking dryly. **"Why, have you taken a liking to him?"**

**"I have to say, I don't exactly enjoy being beaten at Gobstones five times a night..." **Albus looked unimpressed, his gaze straying to the Gobstones laying quietly where he'd left them on the dresser beside his bed. Gobstones seemed to be the only thing Warrington was any good at - Albus had tried distracting him with a game of Wizard Chess, but after explaining to him for the seventh time that the Knight moved in an L shape, not a Q, he'd become frustrated and given up trying. After returning to his dorm covered in the smelly spit of the stones for the third night in a row, Albus had thrown in the towel and conceded defeat.

The other boy didn't respond, his lips moving as he scoured the page ahead of him carefully. In all his tumultuous nights worrying about this conversation, Albus had never really thought about how precisely to go about starting it.

**"... How did you meet those guys?"** he asked, after a while.

**"Their parents are friends of my father's."** He said simply, not looking up.

**"No offence, but why are you hanging out with them?"** Albus faltered. **"I mean,-"**

He was interrupted by the creak of the door as Warrington stumbled in, muddy and looking somewhat worse for wear. Tugging his filthy robes off, he turned to Scorpius, grunting as he approached and tossing a piece of crumpled parchment in his lap.

**"Malfoy-"**

**"Do they not have showers in the changing rooms anymore, Warrington? Go have a bath." **Scorpius' tone was one of disdain, a voice he generally reserved for Gryffindor students who got in his way. Warrington seemed surprised by the edge in his voice, looking slightly affronted, but turning and leaving the room without a word. Scorpius turned back to Albus as the door closed, absent-mindedly smoothing and folding the parchment, tucking it into his spellbook.

**"Well? Do you have a problem, Sev?"**

**"I uh," **Albus couldn't hide his surprise, and having noticed, Scorpius smiled.

**"Do you think I wouldn't make time for you?"**

**"No, it's not that, it's..." **Albus trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

**"Chill out, it's not like I'm gunna dump you in favour of that lot." **Grinning at Albus' bemused expression, Scorpius got to his feet and cracked his knuckles. **"What do you say we do something fun."**

Relieved, but still mildly suspicious, Albus narrowed his eyes.

**"Depends what you've got in mind." **Although he hadn't noticed before, Albus suddenly realised that the pair of them hadn't been off on one of their jolly little adventures since the tail end of November.

**"Well first..." **Scorpius smirked darkly as he reached behind his pillow and pulled out two small bottles of viscous purple fluid, throwing one to Albus. **"We're going to need these."**

Albus lifted the bottle and held it to the light, peering at the translucent liquid within. The bottle had no label, no outwardly identifying features, and as he watched, gold strings swam through it like tiny eels. He watched Scorpius uncork his bottle and raise it in a toast before downing the contents without a further word. Unwillingly, Albus broke the seal on the bottle and scrutinised it for a moment before tipping it back and drinking deeply until the small bottle was completely empty. The liquid was thick and sweet - almost like drinking honey, but as he drank it, a chill ran from his throat to the tips of his fingers, slowly encasing his body as if it were ice. He closed his eyes and when he looked up, Scorpius was nowhere to be found.

**"Scorpius??"**

**"Good, isn't it." **Came Scorpius voice from the other side of the room. Albus looked round. **"You've got your mental Uncle to thank for these beauties."**

The icy feeling in Albus' bones had faded, and was soon replaced by a feeling of growing unease as Scorpius continued.

**"Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes Patented Invisibility Cordial." **His voice sounded as if he were grinning. **"Supposed to be diluted, mind, but what's the worst that can happen."**

**"Ohh, Scorpius." **Albus' voice was thick with dread, his stomach sinking fast. **"George said that when they were brewing this the first time, Lee vanished for a week..."**

**"A week would be good, but I doubt it'll last that long - we'd better get a move on - this way, c'mon! ... No, the door, you idiot!"**

Soon enough, the pair of them were running through the dungeons, invisible to all around them. They passed Goyle and Bulstrode sniggering between themselves on their way back towards the common room, and Albus had to work very hard to resist the urge to shove one of them while they couldn't see him.

**"This way!"** Called Scorpius from up ahead.

**"Which way? I don't know where you are! Why didn't we just take my Dad's cloak??"**

**"Oh, for goodness sake..." **Albus heard Scorpius' footsteps stomping back towards him, before being bumped roughly aside.

**"Ow! That was me!"**

**"Oh, sorry... here." **Albus felt Scorpius groping around before grabbing his wrist. **"Like this, then."**

Together, the two of them made their way towards the grand staircase, slipping through secret passages and making their way upwards. Scorpius wouldn't go any slower than a run, dragging a stumbling Albus behind him the whole way. Eventually they came to a halt in a darkened corridor. Scorpius whispered for silence and crept ahead, his hand still tightly clenched around Albus' wrist. Suddenly he broke into run again, hissing something under his breath as he dragged Albus through a curious hole in the wall ahead and giving him a shunt forwards. Albus stumbled and staggered on his feet as the room swam into focus, clapping a hand over his mouth to stop a gasp of horror escaping.

The round room was lavishly decorated with glorious hanging tapestries and weathered red armchairs collected around a roaring fire. Tables stood along the walls, towering with piles of books, quills and small scrolls of parchment. It was a room he'd never visited before, but one he recognised on sight.

**"This is..." **He started, but Scorpius silenced him with a hiss, tugging him towards a staircase on the far side of the room. Albus whimpered. **"This is the Gryffindor common room..."**

He hadn't more time to look around, as a student seated nearest the fire sat up and peered around the room suspiciously. Dragged by his wrist up the spiral staircase, his heart pounding in his throat, Albus gave a strangled gasp as he watched the door at the top slowly creak open as Scorpius touched the handle. The two of them slipped inside. The dormitory room was round, like the floor below, and housed five four-poster beds, each hung with lavish curtains, and in a fair state of disarray.

**"Peeves..." **Came a disgruntled growl from the far side of the room. Albus stifled a squeak as he saw James' best friend Dominic laying on a bed, disturbed from the parchment in front of him. He felt his wrist leave Scorpius' grip and stood, guiltily watching Dominic who was staring straight back in his direction. After a tense ten seconds wondering if he'd been seen, Dominic looked back down at his essay with a sigh. Albus had just dared to breathe again when a large clunk from beside the door made him jump. A trunk was slowly floating into the air and bumping itself towards the exit. Dominic looked up sharply and got to his feet.

**"Get off Bracken's stuff, Peeves. If this is your idea of a joke... woah!" **Dominic jumped back as the trunk swung towards him, before flying out the door and crunching its way down the stairs. Albus leapt aside just in time to avoid Dominic, who growled and marched off to retrieve the trunk. The door slammed shut behind him.

Albus watched in a sort of muted horror as Scorpius clicked James' trunk open and began to rifle though it, laughing to himself.

**"Scorpius... wh... what are you doing?? That's my brother's stuff!"**

**"It's alright." **Grinned Scorpius. **"We're not stealing anything, I just need to borrow... ah, this." **He pulled out a battered and folded length of blank yellow parchment.

**"... the Marauder's Map!? Scorps, what do you need that for? James will know if you take it..."** Albus watched through his fingers as the map twisted in the air and disappeared completely into what he assumed was Scorpius' pocket.

**"Don't worry so much, Al, it'll be back in his trunk before he even notices it's gone."**

Albus didn't say anything. He felt sick. James' trunk snapped shut as Dominic kicked the door open, dragging the trunk and muttering to himself about the poltergeist. Dropping the trunk at the foot of Bracken's bed, Dominic kicked out at the door to shut it. The door glanced off something in the way, but on the second kick it slammed tight shut. Albus concealed another squeak, looking around for any sign of Scorpius.

Dominic flopped heavily back on his bed, unaware of Albus standing feet away from him, biting his lip and looking around frantically. He shuffled the books ahead of him and yawned, picking his quill and ink up from the floor next to him. Albus shuffled round the beds, wincing as he reached the door and gently turned the handle. The sound seemed to have acted like an alarm for Dominic, because he sprang to his feet and had covered the distance to the door in a single bound.

**"PEEVES!" **He howled, grasping at thin air and narrowly missing the hem of Albus' robes as he slid beneath Dom's flailing arms and shot out of the door, careering down the stairs and landing in an undignified heap at the bottom.

**"What the..." **A girl stood up from the fireside, scowling around the room. **"You know it's against school rules to be sneaking around invisible."**

The boy sat beside her laughed.

**"Don't worry Solar, it's just Peeves again."**

She looked down at him and folded her arms sternly.

**"That ghost is a menace." **She sank back into her seat and rubbed her hands together. **"I wonder how one would go about teaching a poltergeist a lesson."**

There was a shriek from the fireplace as Peeves himself swooped into the room with a shrill cry of triumph.

**"Naughty NAUGHTY Slytherins!" **He cried, laughing as he circled the room in a lazy figure of eight. **"Caught running around in the Gryffindor common room!"**

Solar stood up again and glared at him.

**"What are you talking about?"**

Peeves gave a great cackle, lifting a corner of tapestry and dropping it over where Albus stood like a sheet. It fell flush with the wall as the portrait hole on the opposite side of the room swung shut.

**"There's nobody in here except us, Peeves, now get out."**

Peeves looked mildly disappointed, treating her to an irritable scowl before diving straight through her and back out of the room through the fireplace.

Albus' feet thundered down the stairs, running full pelt to reach the dungeons before he was discovered outside the common room. He dived down the final staircase to the dungeon, taking refuge in the darkness beyond. If Peeves was chasing him, he'd be down to the dungeons long before Albus could reach them, but there came no triumphant squeal as he slid into the low-ceilinged common room and pelted off towards his dormitory, at once frightened, confused and angrier than he'd ever been.

Scorpius wasn't in the dormitory when Albus arrived back, making him almost more incensed at being abandoned. He flung himself down on his bed and lay there for a long while, staring up at the top of the four-poster with a grim scowl. He didn't move when the door slid open and closed again.

**"... Sev?" **Scorpius' voice lilted across the room.

He didn't respond.

**"Sev, I know you're there."**

Silence.

**"Sev, I can see your hair."**

Albus shifted to look, over at the direction of the voice, noting a pale wisp of blonde hair floating where he assumed Scorpius' head would be.

**"How dare you go and bloody leave me up there alone!"**

**"I didn't mean to, Sev, honest!"**

**"You didn't tell me where we were going, because you knew I wouldn't come! You tricked me into going up there."**

**"Sev, I-"**

**"And you stole my brother's map! Give it to me so I can put it back!"**

**"I'll put it back myself after the Quidditch match, I promise, I just need it for a couple of days - he'll never even know we took it."**

**"WE!?" **Albus was fuming, the patches of skin visible around his hairline were purple with bottled anger. **"YOU stole it, not me! This is nothing to do with me!"**

There was a rumble from outside as Warrington shuffled in, an indulgent smirk crossing his face as he noticed Scorpius' hair floating not feet from where he stood.

**"Thought I heard voices." **He grinned darkly. **"So you got the map then?"**

A lot of things happened at once. As Scorpius lurched forward to grab Warrington's collar, Albus threw himself off the bed and pulled a length of silvery cloth from beneath his robes, tugged it over where his dark hair was bobbing around and disappeared from view entirely. He bumped viciously into Scorpius on his way out of the room and slammed the door behind him, ignoring Scorpius' shouts and marching straight out of the common room, headed for the great staircase.

He didn't stop until he reached the clock tower, closing his eyes and knotting his hands in fury. So he'd told Warrington his plans, but hadn't seen fit to share them with his supposed best friend? What could possibly be so important that he'd risk sneaking into the Gryffindor common room during free time? How had he got hold of the password anyway? More to the point, what was he planning with that map?

He was disturbed from his reverie by footsteps tapping up the damp wooden floorboards as, with a swish of fiery-red hair, Lily swung into view, looking determined. She marched straight over to the far side of the room and pulled out the same beaten-up parchment Scorpius seemed so intent on last time the three of them were here.

**"Lily." **Albus spoke in little more than a whisper, looking around to check nobody else was listening.

She jumped and spun round, nearly dropping the parchment clutched to her chest.

**"Who's there??"**

**"It's just me, Albus."**

**"... Albus??" **She looked around for a sign of him and frowned.

**"I'm wearing the Cloak." **He said quietly, moving towards her.

**"Oh." **She didn't look impressed, turning and putting the parchment back where she found it. **"Why are you wandering around hiding under that old thing?"**

**"... Long story."**

**"... Are you alright?" **She lowered her voice and spoke quietly to the faint shadow he cast on the ground.

**"Yeah, I'm fine, I... i just came up here to think for a bit."**

**"Where's Malfoy...?"** She peered around the room, squinting suspiciously as if expecting him to appear from round a corner with a whoop.

**"Common room." **Albus said simply. Lily eyed him for a moment, her lips drawn into a thin line, but she didn't press him further.

**"I've got to get back to the common room." **She said after a while.** "I promised Hugo we could do our Charms homework together. You know we're working on throwing charms now? Classroom's more dangerous than Hagrid's lessons now!"**

Albus forced an invisible smile at her, and reached out under the cloak to pat her on the head. Seizing her opportunity, she flung herself at his body and clung there as she had done so many times before, hugging him close, even though she couldn't see him. Her habit of jumping on people, while usually quite irritating, acted as a tonic to him, and he sighed as he reached an arm around her shoulders and stood there for a minute before she pulled away, smiling brightly. Her perceptive eyes darted this way and that, as if she wasn't quite sure where to look to meet his gaze, all trace of her earlier resentment gone.

**"I heard Greengrass is trying to hatch a Basilisk." **She said suddenly.

**"You what?"**

**"In the Slytherin Common room. Is it true??"**

**"I uh..." **Greengrass was in the year above - Scorpius' cousin. The change of topic was bizarre, and Albus knew neither the answers nor how to respond - it seemed such a peculiar thing for her to suddenly come out with.** "Dunno."**

She was stepping away slowly now, still smiling, but obviously in a bit of a hurry to return to the Gryffindor tower.

**"Find out and let me know how it goes!" **Before he could respond, she was gone in another swish of red hair, and he heard her footsteps pattering off at some speed towards the great staircase.

Albus stood numbly in the clock tower, half-watching the giant pendulum swing back and forth in a daze. He suddenly felt overwhelmed with tiredness, and desired nothing more than his own bed. The sky he could barely see beyond the clock was a thick, inky black, and although it couldn't be too late, it was certainly approaching curfew, and he'd be in twice as much trouble if he got caught out with the cloak.

He turned slowly, starting a slow meander back to the dungeons. He wondered faintly if the rest of his body was visible beneath the cloak now, but dared not check in case anybody saw. Silently and ponderously, he made his way down into the depths of the castle, his anger not faded, but dulled by his sudden weariness.


End file.
